This is War
by ChiruseaFaige
Summary: 35 years after Voldemort's fall and 11 years after the fall of another dark wizard, a new dark leader is rising and has already put Hogwarts in crosshairs. Students from Hogwarts and other schools will be subject to the 'Survival Games'. Who will come out? Will everyone be able to keep their head? Rated T for Violence. Expect to see some canons occasionally, mostly OCs.
1. The Beginning

_Chapter One : The Beginning_

* * *

Artemis Steele was sitting in her office, staring at a letter on her desk. She was waiting on the other professors to try to decide their next course of action. At this point, she wasn't sure that they had a choice in the matter but she wanted to consult with some of the others.

Ines Astrid was the first to enter the room. Her fiery auburn hair was flowing down her back and her hazel eyes spotted the roll of parchment on the desk. She pursed her lips slightly, wondering if the letter had anything to do with her most recent visions. She looked at Artemis.

Artemis's ice blue eyes met Ines's and she sighed softly. Artemis didn't know how to respond to the questioning in her eyes so she decided to wait. Slowly, the other professors began to file in. There was Ethan Barrister, Felix Astrid, Isabelle Cromwell, and several of the other teachers that were part of the school. She sighed softly as she saw her staff in front of her and noticed that a couple of her student teachers, like Sophia Astrid, were present. She slowly stood and began to read the letter.

'_To the teachers at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,_

_ I write to you today to inform you that your school has been selected for a 9 school tournament called The Survival Games. These games are mandatory and you may not withdraw from the competition._

_ A Ministry official will come to the school in 2 weeks time, at 10:00 am. Two students, one male and one female between the ages of 12 and 18, from each house will be selected by random lottery to be a "tribute" from their house. When chosen, another student may volunteer for the selected student but this may only be done once. After the selections are made, the 8 students from the school will be taken to the Ministry in Berlin, Germany and prepped to participate in the games. As a change, since the school has separate houses, each Head of House will serve as the mentor for their house's tributes and be in direct control of their tribute's sponsors. However, if the child of a professor is chosen, they will be designated to mentor the house._

_ The 8 other schools in the competition are Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, Durmstrang Institute, Australian School of Magic, Salem Institute, Washington State School of Magic, Elysian Academy of Magic, Cherry Blossom Institute, and Appalachian Academy of Magic. They will have their selections made after Hogwarts and the event will be televised for magical households in England, France, Australia, Greece, Russia, Bulgaria, Japan, and any other areas where the students are from. I want to make you aware that if you decide not to participate, you risk the lives of any other tributes as well as your own students._

_Hope to see you soon!_

_Jennifer Klark, Head of Department of Magical Education_'

Artemis turned and looked at her fellow staff, many of which appeared in shock overall. Her face was an ashen shade as she looked over the other faces. "It doesn't appear that we can refuse the invitation. I know that this puts many of your very own children in danger, as it does mine." She stated, her voice having calm in it. "I just want you to know that if we refuse, this puts at least 16 other children in danger as well as all our students. So, I say that we join to protect all these lives."

Sophia looked at her mother before looking at Artemis. "I agree. I don't know what the outcome of these games are, but judging that they're called The Survival Games, I don't see them ending with everyone coming out okay. I feel that there will probably be some death but..." Sophia began, thinking as she spoke. She took the letter's envelope and tossed it in the fire, causing a loud popping noise before shaking her head. "Sorry, I figured they'd have some device to listen with."

Ines nodded. "It's alright, dear. Just continue with what you were saying." She told Sophia.

"Yes, anyways...as I was saying, we could have the Order break into the arena. I'm not sure but I feel they'll have a force field around it. If I'm right, we need to break it from the inside and in that case, we will have to be careful." Sophia told them quietly. "I'm not saying that any of these other kids are going to go easy on any of us. They'll probably be trained to kill which means there will be casualties. But...I think we can do this." She told them rationally.

"It seems to me that keeping everyone alive will ride on us being on top of our game." Ethan stated, feeling a little uncomfortable about the whole situation. He then looked over at Felix. "Got any ideas?" He asked him.

Felix sighed as he walked over to the window, looking out at the gentle snowfall. "I'd suggest sending all the children home but you lot know as well as I do that they're in more danger outside of here than they are here." He said before looking back, leaning against the window ledge. "I think that Sophia has the best idea out of any of us." He told them and shook his head. "We don't have a choice other than to go through with it." Felix replied, folding his arms.

Artemis nodded. "Do we tell the students?" She asked them.

"We'll have to." Ines told Artemis softly. "It'll be in the Prophet soon enough so we've got to tell them. If we're sending them into a war zone, they have a right to train themselves." She said, meeting eyes with Felix. "We have a duty to those students to prepare them for the real world. Now, we have to prepare them for a battle that they're not ready to face just so they can survive." She stated.

"It's not just a battle, Ines." Mason Potter spoke up from the back of the room as he walked forward. "This is war. To live, they're going to have to have alliances and they'll need skills that we all possess." He said.

Felix perked his head up. He knew that Mason had been doing some traveling lately. "You've been traveling around. What have you been hearing?" He asked him.

Nolan Whitlock stepped forward and shook his head. "These games are not just about survival. They're about more than that." He said and then shrugged. "We're not sure why they're happening but Mason and I have been traveling around schools, just to get an idea of what's going on. They obviously know more though because I saw kids doing some training that most magical schools don't allow." He stated simply, looking to Mason. "We only saw a few schools."

Mason nodded, hearing what Nolan said. "Other students are training in weapons. I saw a kid from the Appalachian Academy swinging a sword like he'd been training all his life for it." He told the group. "They're not the only ones. Salem is doing the same and the Elysian Academy has set up a training area for all students 12-18 with teachers guiding them. I mean, this isn't child's play anymore." He reminded them before sighing heavily. "According to the headmaster of Appalachian Academy, only one tribute will come out alive...unless we follow Sophia's plan."

Ines listened closely when she heard Mason. "We need to start teaching our students then." She stated. "I mean, they may not be allowed to use spells and charms in the arena so we need to train them up." She said, looking at Artemis and the others. "Which means...we need some help."

Isabelle looked at the group, her arms folded. "Who's even left to help?" She asked them. "Other than us, there isn't many people out there willing to come train a bunch of kids how to fight. Jeremy's gone, Sebastian is still trying to reassemble his head, and I doubt that Evelyn is going to come out and give anyone her wisdom." She pointed out. "Right now, we're all these kids have, pretty much."

Ines looked at Isabelle and nodded. "She's right. But we have to try." Ines reminded everyone. "Kari's back. Warren could help too if we asked." She added and then thought a moment. "Sebastian might be able to help. It might even get his memory back to help out. We've just got to get everyone and anyone together to help these kids. I don't want Hogwarts kids to go out there and get themselves killed right out of the starting gate."

Felix listened to Ines's idea and nodded. "Anything that can help would be great." He told them.

"I want everyone to take their best battle talent and get it ready because we're going to start training tomorrow for all the eligible students. They'll be voluntary classes and they can pick two classes a day to attend during the free periods they're offered." Artemis told them. "If you have the same talent as someone and they're better at it, let them teach it and use one of your other talents. They need to know as much as they can." She told them.

One of the other staff members looked confused a moment. "But, what about Ines and Felix? I don't think that there are many, if there are any at all, seers in the students?" They questioned.

Ines looked at the teacher before getting a wicked grin. "Then you haven't seen me with a bow and arrow in hand." She told them, causing the staffer to look a bit taken aback. "Bet you didn't realize that I've got more talents than my powers, did you?"

Felix glared at the staffer. "I don't think I need to recite my accreditation in killing but if you must know, I can use knives in multiple ways...including throwing them at deadly accuracy." He commented coolly, causing the teacher to turn red and nod, keeping his mouth shut.

Artemis glanced over the group. "Now, if no one has any more qualms with the abilities of any other fellow staff members, I'll send you lot off to think now." She said before looking at everyone. "Except a few of you and that would be my family or close family friends." She stated and watched quite a bit of the group leave. She looked at those left.

"I realize that several of you have children here. I am sorry that they may be subject to this but remember that I've got two that are going to be in that selection process." Artemis told them softly. "I'll contact Kari tomorrow and have her and Warren come up, if they're willing. I may see if Sebastian is stable enough to come here but I make no promises. At this point, though, it's imperative that our students learn what they need to so they can stay alive." Artemis reminded them.

Ethan nodded as he listened to Artemis. "Would you like us to tell our houses ourselves or would you rather tell them in a big announcement tomorrow morning?" He asked her curiously.

Artemis sighed, thinking that decision over. She looked at Ethan and at everyone else. "I would rather the heads of houses explain this development to their students immediately." She told them honestly. "I think that if you guys told them on a one on one level, it'd make things go easier and answer any of their questions the best that you can." She told them. "Ines, I would like for you to take over Gryffindor House as their Head of House since Jeremy is gone." She said, looking at Ines before her eyes moved to Felix. "I would like you to take over Slytherin House as their Head of House with Evelyn gone." She told them before looking over the group. "Well, that's all I have to say. Go ahead and spread the news." Artemis said before her eyes locked on Sophia. "If you get picked, Sophia, please be safe and take care of yourself."

Sophia gave Artemis a quick nod before departing. As Artemis watched everyone leave, she looked back at the letter and sighed. She only hoped to get all the students out of those games alive...no matter what.

* * *

Ines walked into Gryffindor tower quietly but with an air of purpose. Many of the students looked at her as dinner hadn't ended long ago and they weren't used to seeing Ines in the tower or outside of her own classroom for that matter. Ines looked at the students and had them cover their ears before pointing her wand at her throat and saying "Sonorus" softly. "Will all Gryffindors please report to the commons area immediately! I have an announcement!" Ines said, her voice enhanced and much louder than usual. She quickly performed the "Quietus" charm afterward.

Students started to emerge from the dormitory towers, many of them in pajamas and some still in their school uniforms. Ines looked over the group and saw that everyone was accounted for. She took a deep breath after being sure they were all in attendance. "Good evening. I apologize for bringing you all together at this time but I have news to pass to all of you." Ines stated before looking at all the faces, knowing that many of them would be in the drawing. "Hogwarts has been forced to be part of an event called 'The Survival Games'. Two of you from this house, a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18, will be chosen as a tribute to represent your house and your school. Those two chosen will be accompanied by an escort as well as their chosen mentor for the duration of the games." Ines said and looked at all the faces. "Does anyone have any questions?"

A hand went up towards the back before speaking. "So, say that we're unable to actually compete. Is there any way that we could, I dunno, get out of it?" The voice asked.

Ines looked at the student with a softened smile. "There is a way, Aly. If a student is chosen, there is an opportunity for another student to volunteer for that position but it is only allowable once." She stated and saw some of the students talking. Ines's face instantly became serious. "However," She began, causing all the students to look up at her, "I recommend that you do so only in a case where you are fully serious. These are not games, alright? This is your life being put on the line and I suggest you be very conscious about your decisions. The drawing will be in two weeks at 10:00 am, it will be the 23rd of March. If you need anything, please come to me and I will try my best to help. In any case, Merlin watch over all of you." Ines said, her voice becoming very kind.

Lemuel Steele looked at Ines a moment before he raised his hand and was acknowledged. "Do the other houses know yet?" He asked her, his voice steady.

Ines looked at Lemuel before nodding. "The other houses are being notified right now." She told him honestly. Ines looked at everyone. "Look, I know that there are house rivalries that run deeper than just surface appearances." She told them honestly. "I used to be in this house. I knew. I just want all of you to please put that aside for these games. You must stand united or you will all fall. There are 8 other schools preparing for this as we speak. They're ready for blood to be spilled and they want to come out of there alive for whatever reason. You guys can't get drawn into all that. You need to keep your head and watch yourself." Ines told them honestly. "I'm begging you all to please, watch yourselves. Training classes will begin tomorrow for all of age students. Use them to your advantage."

All the students were silent as they listened to Ines. They realized that she was serious as they watched a tear run down her cheek. It was then that Gryffindor house realized that whomever got chosen needed to fight hard. This wasn't a game. It was life or death. It was war.

* * *

_**Author's Note :**This is a little adventure of mine into writing in a more wide area. Reviews are welcome and I will be bringing in some cannons periodically as the story needs them. It is a future branch off for my story 'Losing Your Memory' so if you like it, you may be pleasantly pleased with this one, I hope! The next chapter should liven up the action somewhat._


	2. Reaping Day

_**Chapter Two : Reaping Day**_

* * *

_March 23rd, 2033_

Artemis watched as all the students gathered in the Great Hall at their house tables. The Ministry official hadn't arrived yet but it wasn't quite 10:00. She quietly noticed many of the timid and scared faces in the crowd. She wished that this didn't have to happen but unfortunately, there was no choice. In front of the staff table, in line with each House table, sat two large globe-style bowls full of names. As the rule officiated, every 12-year-old got 1 slip in and one additional one per year of age until anyone who was 18-years-old had 7 slips total. She noticed that many of the 11-year-old students sat with their older siblings, afraid that they could be chosen and wouldn't come back. Artemis wished that there was something they could do but there wasn't.

Finally, a few minutes before 10, a woman walked in and towards the front, followed by a group of about 8 aurors. She had light blue hair that cascaded over her shoulders in a waterfall of curls. Her outfit resembled her hair as she wore a deeper blue top and black dress slacks. Other than her hair, she looked pretty normal as her eyes swept over the students before she nodded to Artemis, who motioned her with a nod to proceed.

The woman smiled at the group. "Good morning, students. My name is Star Costella and I'll be drawing the names of one brave girl and one brave boy from each house as tribute to face off against the other schools to bring pride and honor to your school. Happy Survival Games and may the odds be _ever _in your favor." Star told them with a smile. It was as if she hardly understood that lives were on the line.

"Now, we'll start with Gryffindor House. Ladies first." Star stated brightly before lowering her arm into the bowl and searched for a moment before putting out a piece of paper and opening it. "Alyson Steele." She read out, looking down the table.

Aly stood up, looking about ready to throw up. She had begun to walk up to the front, feeling quite numb. This couldn't bode well if she was chosen and she wasn't ready for this. Suddenly, she heard someone behind her and turned.

"Aly. Aly!" Emyrillis Steele spoke, her throat dry, as she was trying to get to Aly when a couple of aurors took hold of her arms as she fought them. "I volunteer!" She shouted, finding her voice, and the aurors suddenly let her go as she stood there defiantly. "I volunteer as tribute." Emy spoke, walking up towards the front and Aly. She felt Aly trying to give her a hug and she shook her head. "Go sit with Eli. Go on." Emy snapped at her, trying to shrug her off before feeling Aly pulled away and she saw Matthew taking Aly back to the house table. Emy walked to the front and stood behind the girl's drawing ball.

"Well, what a turn of events!" Star said brightly, looking at Emy. "We have a volunteer. What's your name?" She asked Emy.

"Emyrillis Steele." Emy said, barely believing what had just happened.

"Alyson must be your sister then! Guess you wanted to get all the attention instead. Everyone give Alyson a round of applause!" Star announced.

The Great Hall was quiet a moment and no one applauded. The Gryffindors were in shock and they could hardly believe the turn in events. They knew the twins were protective of one another but no one knew that this would happen.

"Alright then. Now for the boy." Star announced before shuffling in the boy's globe and pulling out a name. "Lemuel Steele!" She announced.

Lemuel got up and started for the front, shocked but his anger was moving his feet towards the front. '_How can they do this? Why?_' He mentally asked himself. Before he got to the first stair, he heard a voice call out.

"I volunteer as tribute!"

Lemuel turned on the dime and saw James Potter, or Jamie as everyone called him, standing up defiantly. Lemuel looked at him. "You're just a kid. You don't need to be part of this." Lemuel told him with a slight scowl.

Jamie shook his head as he came forward and looked at Lemuel, lowering his voice. "Your sisters and your brother need you here. Emy's already in this mess. They don't need to lose you too." He reminded Lemuel.

Lemuel looked at Jamie for the longest time before nodded. "Don't get yourself killed. Take care of Emy." He told Jamie, putting his hand on the kid's shoulder for the longest time. Lemuel then walked back to his seat, wondering what Jamie just got himself into.

Star smiled very brightly as Jamie walked to his own spot up front. "That was mighty noble of you!" She told him with a smile before looking at him. "You look so young! What's your name?" She questioned.

"Jamie Potter." He said strongly.

"Well, congratulations! Now, please shake hands with Miss Steele over here." Star told him brightly.

Jamie turned to Emy and shook her hand as their eyes met. They knew that what they did wouldn't be forgotten by any of this. When he released her hand, his eyes met his dad, Mason's, eyes and he saw something there he hadn't seen in a long time. His father's eyes held a sense of fear deep down. Jamie swallowed as his eyes watched Star move to another set of bowls.

Emy's eyes met her mother, Artemis's, eyes and she saw some pride there but also some fear. She hoped to talk to her before they left. Emy didn't know how to feel but she felt a little comfort that Alyson would be safe and that meant everything.

Star stood in front of another set of bowls and smiled. "Now, we'll draw the Hufflepuff tributes. Ladies first." She stated and her hand dug in the bowl a moment before she withdrew it with a piece of paper. "Tara Bones." Star announced and a girl with deep auburn red hair and deep blue eyes. Tara walked to the front and gave a small smile but no one volunteered for her.

Star smiled. "Now for the boys." She said brightly and dug in the boy names before pulling one out and opened it. "Philip Diggory." Star announced and a boy with messy brown hair walked to the front. After a moment, Star had the two tributes shake hands and moved on to the next set of bowls, which belonged to Slytherin House.

Aly was sitting over with Eli, Matthew, and Lemuel at the Gryffindor table. She watched as Star approached the bowls. "You don't think that Caleb will be picked, do you?" She asked Lemuel.

Lemuel shrugged. "It's hard to tell. I mean, the odds should mean that Andre or one of the older students will be picked but you got picked and you're 13. The odds are pretty terrible." He admitted to her as the two turned their attention back to Star.

Star smiled brightly. "Now for our Slytherin tributes. First, the ladies." She said and quickly rummaged in the bowl and brought out a slip of paper that she then unfolded. "Jerika Astrid." She said brightly.

Jerika Astrid quietly got up after having to get Josh, her little brother, to let her go. She walked to the front, her blonde hair flowing down her back and blue eyes locked on the front of the room. She got to her spot and nodded at Star when she received the congrats. Inside, though, Jerika was a flurry of emotions and when she turned her head to look at her parents, her father was in slight shock and her mother looked to be holding all her emotions in as she left the room in distress.

Star smiled as she nodded at the new tribute. "Next, the boys." She said and quickly plucked a piece of paper out of the bowl, opening it up. "Caleb Porter." Star announced.

Caleb Porter stood and looked visibly stunned. He had dark brown, almost black, hair and tanner skin than many of the other students. His brown eyes trained to the front and he walked up to the spot and waited, wondering if anyone would take his spot for the glory of it all but no one did. He shook Jerika's hand, as instructed, and his eyes sought Aly. Their eyes met a moment before looking back to Star as she moved to the last set of bowls, which belonged to Ravenclaw House.

Star smiled brightly as she looked over the Ravenclaw house table. "Now for the Ravenclaw tributes." She said happily. She walked to the girl's bowl and picked a piece of paper out after a moment of digging. "Sophia Astrid." She announced.

Sophia stood up, looking determined as she walked to the front. A couple of Ravenclaw girls looked about to volunteer but Sophia looked at them and they decided not too. Sophia kept her head up as she looked at the tributes to either side before looking back at Ravenclaw table.

"Now for the boys." Star announced and rummaged a moment in the bowl before pulling out a slip of paper and unfolding it. "Yosuke Kino." She spoke clearly.

Yosuke Kino stood and began to walk to the front. His brown hair was particularly unruly but his brown eyes met Sophia's and he was kind of shocked that he was chosen. He looked at Ravenclaw table and saw Dale Potter, his half brother, about to volunteer and he shook his head at him. That was the last thing that he needed was his little brother taking his place. When Star told Sophia and Yosuke to shake hands, Yosuke shook her hand and let go, hoping to keep Star's attention away from the engagement ring on Sophia's hand. They were engaged...now they were going to go fight for their lives. He felt himself swallow but his mouth was dry. This was going to be hard.

Star smiled. "Well, that concludes our selection of the tributes. Give it up for these brave boys and girls going into this event." She stated.

All the houses except Gryffindor lightly applauded for their tributes. It was a very strained applause for everyone. Many students would be glued to the new televisions being installed into their common rooms for the event, praying that their friends would make it. After the applause died down, a student from Gryffindor table stood up, looking at Emy and Jamie. It was Thaddeus Barrister, Jamie's cousin. Tad's brown eyes locked with the pair before he put three fingers to his lips and raised them as a salute. Slowly, the rest of Gryffindor house followed with the same salute. It was considered a sign of respect from all of them as only those two had volunteered for others. Tad sat down afterward but no one lowered their hands until Emy and Jamie nodded in acknowledgment.

Star watched the display and smiled. "After you guys see your families, you will all be sent to France where each pair will board a separate train to Berlin, Germany. There, you'll be housed in the upper levels of the training center until the games begin. So, I hope to see you all there soon and may the odds be _ever_ in your favor." Star said brightly as the aurors corralled the students to the back rooms and situated each tribute to a separate room.

* * *

Emy waited a moment before Artemis, Aly, Eli, Lemuel, and Matthew entered the room, Sebastian trailing behind and waiting near the door. She looked at her family, one at a time, hoping to keep the memory of their faces forever. Emy then locked eyes with Artemis before being enveloped in a hug.

"Please, be safe." Artemis told her and then pulled away to look her in the eyes. "Mason is going to be your mentor but he knows how to get hold of me if you need me." She said with a small smile. "I have faith in you."

Aly was next and she hugged Emy tightly. "Thank you." She told her sister as she let go. "I'll be watching every night. You have no idea how worried I'll be." Aly told Emy before her sister smiled and shook her head.

"Just don't have little Angela too early and that's how you can thank me." Emy said, gently pressing her hand against Aly's stomach. "I know she grows faster than normal but it'd make me feel better. Even though you're young, you'll be fine."

Aly nodded with a small smile. "Just keep Caleb safe." She told Emy honestly. "Help him come back."

Emy nodded. "I'll do my best." She promised softly. '_So, in a sea of all 24 of us, I've got to probably team up with Jamie and protect Caleb. What luck I have..._' She thought to herself as Eli hugged her and she smiled at her little brother. "You be safe. Be good for mom and everyone." She told him as she then looked at Lemuel.

"I'm not going to tell you to protect anyone or ally with anyone. Just watch your ass and come home." Lemuel told her honestly as he gave her a hug. "I can watch out for everyone here but when you get into that arena, you better be careful." He told her as he released her and stepped back for Matthew.

Matthew walked up to Emy and gave her a soft smile. "I'm sorry that I can't protect you." He told her before giving her a gentle kiss and meeting her eyes. They both shared a moment that explained how they both felt without saying anything. He kissed her forehead. "Come back, okay?" He said and Emy nodded.

Finally, Sebastian walked forward. He looked at Emy and he actually recognized her as he got to know his kids better over the holidays. He sighed softly. "It's weird that I finally get to actually know you and you're headed to this death game." Sebastian said and Emy nodded. He then digs in his pocket a moment before taking out a necklace with a larger pendant on it. "Erm, it's a phoenix biting an arrow in the ring. Your mother said that you were good at archery and I want you to keep this close. It's supposed to be lucky for accuracy or something. They say you're allowed to take something in the arena and I wanted you to have it." He told her honestly and put it on her.

Emy met Sebastian's eyes for the longest time before she hugged him and felt him hug her back tightly. "Thanks, Dad. It means a lot. Take care of Mum, please..." Emy whispered to him as they released one another.

Sebastian nodded and smiled. "Count on it, Ems." He told her honestly and kissed the top of her head. "You show 'em that you're not just a pretty face." Sebastian said before the group left the room, leaving Emy alone.

* * *

Jamie sat in the next room, thinking about his own decision. He looked up when he saw Mason walk in with Nolan and he stood up. Jamie sighed a little. "Dad, I'm sorry. I couldn't let Lemuel go in there with Emy already taking Aly's spot." He admitted to his dad.

Mason shook his head as he hugged Jamie. "Don't apologize, Jamie. I'm proud of you, kid." He told Jamie honestly before letting him go and looking at him. "I'll be going with you guys to be your mentor so it'll be okay. We'll be leaving soon and it'll be okay. Trust me, everything's gonna be okay." Mason said before looking at Nolan.

Nolan looked at Jamie before sitting on the arm of the chair to get closer to his level. "Be careful, Jamie." He told him. "I don't know how the other schools will react when you guys get in that arena but whatever you do, use your brains." Nolan said honestly. "Some of those kids have been training for months and they're not going to take it easy on anyone. Watch yourself and be careful about who you're allies with."

Jamie nodded at Nolan. "Don't worry, Uncle Nolan. I come from a great group, right? I'll be alright." He told him brightly. "I may be young but I'm not dumb."

Nolan smiled and nodded. "I know." He said before hugging him. "I just know that you're my only nephew and I need to be worried about you, alright?" He said, letting Jamie go and smiling. "I'll go ahead and leave you guys. I better make sure that there isn't a riot in the Great Hall." Nolan said with a smile as he left.

Jamie looked at Mason. "So, you'll be here the whole time?" He asked.

"The whole time." Mason agreed with a nod.

"Until I enter the arena?"

"Well, I'll be your mentor and accepting sponsors so don't think I'm abandoning you when you go in there. I'll be watching the whole time and I guess I'll be sending you whatever you need."

"Good."

"Why?" Mason asked.

Jamie chuckled. "Because I'll be around Emy the whole time and she might need my help." He told Mason, who smiled a little. "Besides, if I'm anything like Uncle Nolan, I'll probably need help if I'm that accident-prone."

Mason laughed lightly. "Alright, I'll make sure you guys have everything you need." He told Jamie honestly. "I love you, Jamie. Don't forget that in there."

Jamie nodded. "I know, Dad." He said, nodding. "I love you too. No matter what happens in there, I'll always be Jamie."

"I hope so, Jamie." Mason said, looking at him and patted his shoulder. "I sure hope so."

* * *

Jerika sat alone for the longest time in the room. She had wondered if anyone was going to see her off. Finally, the door opened and Felix walked in with Josh behind him. Jerika looked up and looked a bit confused.

Felix shook his head. "Cassie won't be coming. She was so upset that I had to give her a sleeping draught so she'd calm down and not hyperventilate from crying." He explained to Jerika and saw her look of sadness. "I brought Josh down here and...oh, there she is." Felix said, looking back to see Ines enter the room.

Jerika looked up and at Ines. "Grammy..." She said softly as the woman crossed the room and hugged her gently. "I'm scared." She admitted softly.

Ines gave Jerika a slight smile as she gently stroked her granddaughter's hair. She would've given the world for Jerika not to have to go but now, it felt as if the whole world had stopped for the moment. "I know but you're going to have to be strong." Ines told her, pulling back to look Jerika in the eyes. "You're going to have to trust your dad. He'll be the mentor for you and Caleb. In that arena, they're going to go for the scared and weak ones. Prove to them that you're stronger than that." She told her softly before kissing the top of her head. "And when you get back, we'll have some tea and we can talk about it. Alright?"

Jerika nodded as she swallowed the lump in her throat so she wouldn't cry. "Okay, Grammy." She said before looking at her father.

"Mom's right. I'll be going with you and Caleb as your mentor. Don't worry about Josh cause...well...Lemuel will take care of him." Felix told her before hugging his daughter. "We'll be in this together, I promise. I'm not going to just let you die in there."

Jerika nodded. "I know, Daddy." She said softly before looking up at him. "You'll be back after you say goodbye to Sophia, right?" She asked.

Felix nodded. "I'll be with you guys until you leave to the arena." He told her honestly before kissing the top of her head. "I'll be right back." He promised before leaving with Ines to go see Sophia, Josh following after giving Jerika a tight hug.

* * *

Caleb sat by himself in the room. He knew that his family wouldn't be there to tell him goodbye so when the door opened, he felt a little confused. Then, he saw Aly and quickly got up. "Aly...what are you doing in here...?" He asked.

Aly smiled at him softly as she quickly crossed the room and put her arms around him. "You know why I'm here." She told him quietly, looking up to meet his eyes. "I'm in here because I am part of your family too." She told him before frowning. "And I'm scared for you."

Caleb gave Aly a slight smile as he hugged her gently. "I know, Aly." He told her softly. "You've gotta be strong for me and for our little one." He said, looking at her stomach with a frown, knowing that he might not come back from this. "What did the doctor say?" He asked her curiously.

Aly looked at him sadly. "They said that she has grown exponentially, which is why I feel her move so much." She told him and sighed softly. "She'll be born any time now. She's the size that she's supposed to be at about 8 1/2 months and she's got my blood." She told him honestly, biting her lip.

Caleb looked at her sadly before pulling her into another hug. "I'm sorry that I won't be here, Aly." He apologized to her. "But you've gotta be strong, okay? You've gotta be strong for her." He added, pulling back as he gave her a short kiss. "Did you ever decide on what you wanted her to be named?" He asked.

Aly smiled with a soft chuckle. "Angela Cayla Porter." She told him. "I thought it sounded pretty. What do you think?" She asked him.

Caleb smiled slightly at her, trying to keep his emotions back. "I think it's a beautiful name for her, Aly." He told her honestly, gently touching her stomach. "Just remember that I'll always love you both..." He told her quietly.

Aly nodded as she started to tear up. "I will, I promise." She told him, giving him a soft kiss and a small hug. She then dug in her pocket and pulled out a small box that she then opened. "I brought you something for the arena." She said softly, a couple tears falling as she handed him a woven bracelet. "Mom said you could take something to the arena so...I wanted to bring you this. I thought it might be good." She told him.

Caleb took it and smiled slightly as he put it on. "I'll think of you and little Angela the whole time." He promised softly. He thought a moment before taking off his usual jacket and put it around her shoulders. "Keep that for me." He told her softly. "If you miss me, then just pull this on and it'll be like I never left." He said and kissed her forehead and gave her a sad smile, trying to keep his emotions under control. "Reach in the pocket." He told her.

Aly reached in one of the pockets to find a box. She took it out and looked at him. When he gave her a nod, she opened the box and gasped softly, which only lead to more tears. "Caleb..." She said quietly. Inside the box sat a very pretty promise ring.

"I was going to give it to you before Angela was born. I want you to know that after all this is over, I want us to be a family." Caleb told her honestly. "I want to wait a while til we get married but that would be my promise to both my girls that we would be a family." He said, taking it out and putting it on her finger. "I'm so sorry, Alyson." He said softly.

"It's okay." Aly told him quietly, trying to quell her tears a little. "Just come home safe." She told him and hugged him tight, not wanting to let him go.

Caleb just nodded before he pulled back and gave her one last kiss. "I'll see you again after this is over, okay? Be safe, love." He told her and watched Aly leave. To be honest, Caleb didn't know if he'd live through this or not but at least he could give her the hope to keep it together.

* * *

Yosuke and Sophia had decided to be in the same room when Ines and Felix walked in. Ines instantly hugged Sophia while Felix walked over to Yosuke and shook his hand.

Ines looked at Sophia. "I'll be coming with you guys as your mentor." She told her honestly before kissing her daughter's forehead. "I'll be there the whole time, no matter what." Ines promised her.

Sophia nodded before noticing that her mother was a little off balanced and she frowned. "You've already been drinking?" She questioned Ines.

Ines pursed her lips. "Barely. I will be fine." She told Sophia and shook her head. "It'll be about a day til we get to Germany from France because we'll be riding on a really old line that no many people use anymore...or even know about for that matter." She told them honestly. "We'll learn more when we meet up with our escort on the train."

Yosuke looked at Ines. "An escort? Isn't that already your job?" He asked her.

Ines shrugged. "Apparently not. Don't worry, though. Can't be any stranger than Ms Star from in there." She told Yosuke honestly, giving him a hug as well. "We'll talk about strategy when we get there."

Felix turned when he saw Yosuke's two younger siblings rush in to hug their brother. Felix looked at Sophia. "Would you come with me a minute?" He asked her and the pair stepped into the hall.

"What's the matter, Felix?" Sophia asked him curiously. "You're not usually like this."

Felix nodded. "I know." He told her and sighed. "Look, this sounds weird, but I need you to take this." He said, holding out a necklace with a charm on it.

Sophia looked really confused. "Felix, I can't take that. I've already got my token from home." She told him, motioning to her ring.

Felix shook his head. "No, you can't take that." He told her. "If you've gotta do anything with it, give it to Yosuke on a necklace and tell him to keep it safe. These other players will notice and you can't risk that." He told her, still holding his hand out. "Take this instead. It sounds weird but I think you'll need it."

"Alright, if you say so." Sophia said, taking the necklace in her hands. She looked at it closely. "Why are you giving this to me? It's a phoenix. I..." She began before realizing what it was meant for and she looked at Felix. "How will I know?" She asked him.

Felix watched her put it on. "The outer edges will turn red and get a little hot." He told her honestly. "That's when I need you to disable it with that spell I taught you." Felix whispered to her and smiled a little. "And before you ask, you are part phoenix. Everyone's affects them differently, you know. Ines and I can see into the future and you're a prodigy." He admitted to her. "Also, there are some other necklaces like this around everyone so if you meet one, the outer edges will turn blue, signifying a friend." Felix explained to her. "Not everyone is your enemy. Figure out early who's out to get you and be careful." He told her before taking her back in as Yosuke's siblings departed.

Ines looked at Felix. "You should probably go to your group." She told him and watched Felix leave before looking at Sophia and Yosuke. "We should be leaving soon. Are you guys ready for this?" She asked.

Sophia folded her arms and shrugged. "Does it matter? We don't have a choice to be ready or not to be ready. We have to be ready for this." She said honestly.

"But we are ready." Yosuke told Sophia and then looked at Ines. "We can do this."

"I'm glad to hear that." Ines said with a smile. "Because you'll need that determination soon." She told him before turning to see a lone Auror. Now, they had to be off to the games and who knew what that consisted of. Ines gave the pair a less happy smile. "Be strong for the cameras. They can be pretty vicious monsters if you show weakness." She told them honestly.

* * *

_**Author's Note : **Wow! That was a pretty tough chapter to get out. Sorry for not including the Hufflepuff tributes for this bit but I was starting to really overkill it with everyone saying goodbye. Remember to review if you like it!_


	3. Just a Glimpse

_**Chapter Three, Just a Glimpse**_

* * *

As the Aurors led the tributes to Hogwarts' borders, Emy spared a glance back to the castle. There, she knew her siblings were safe and she knew that her family would worry about her. She turned back to face forward and kept her head up as she kept her emotions back. In that castle was Matthew, who would be watching the entire time and keeping faith for her safe return. Every step felt like she wore weights on her feet and she wished that she could turn around and run back. To run home. But with this many Aurors, Emy knew she wouldn't make it to the castle doors in time to dodge any spells.

Jamie looked at Emy before taking her hand in his in a friendly way. He looked at her and tried to give her a small smile. "It'll be okay. We'll make it back." He told her, trying to keep her hopes up. He too wanted to run back but with his father coming with them, it was a luxury that he couldn't afford. If they were going to be part of this, he wanted to show everyone that they were stronger than the powers over them.

Sophia had clutched onto Yosuke's hand. What no one knew was that she was scared too. Nothing was scarier than knowing you had 16 people that you didn't know who would be willing to kill you, just to go home to their families. Sophia knew the plan that the Order of the Phoenix had to try to get them out but how to go about it was the question. Sophia wasn't sure how big the arena would be or what properties it had. For all she knew, it nullified all magic and left them as sitting ducks.

Yosuke glanced over at Sophia and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. In a way, he was glad that they would be going in together. But, in another way, he would give anything for her to have not come into this. He wanted her to be safe and he would do anything to save her in that arena and that's what scared him personally.

The Aurors finally reached the outside of the apparation barrier and each Auror apparated the proper tributes to their respectable train station so they could board. After they boarded, the Aurors placed a containment charm on each train, keeping the tributes from leaving them. The Aurors them departed, their jobs finally being done.

* * *

Emy and Jamie released hands once they boarded their train. They looked around and walked into a living area car of the train with Mason following close behind. Emy was stopped dead in her tracks by who she saw there.

"Mom?" Emy questioned in a confused way. "But, I thought you were going to be back in England taking care of the school? Did something happen already?" She asked worriedly.

Artemis shook her head as she folded her arms and bit the inside of her mouth, trying to think of what to say. "I have been chosen as your escort as well as an addition mentor to help Mason get you two ready for everything until you go to the arena." She told Emy and Jamie. "Therefore, I've got a bit more knowledge about what is happening. I just found out about this about 10 minutes ago."

Mason looked at Artemis and nodded, more curious than anything. "So what's the deal, then? What happens after we get there?" He asked, leaning against the door frame.

Artemis looked at Mason before looking at Emy and Jamie. "Well, when we get to Berlin, you two are going to be going with a prep team that will be taking care of you guys and getting you ready before you get to meet your stylist." She told them. "I suggest you guys not complain too much with them. They're doing their best for you and they don't want to really hurt you. You've just gotta keep yourself together. Then, you'll meet with your stylist and they'll get you guys all dressed up for the big parade they'll have to recognize where all the tributes are from. We'll work on the schedule from there because that's what I want you guys to focus on right now."

"Woah, woah, woah." Jamie said, looking at Artemis. "What exactly is this prep team gonna do to us? And what's all this about a stylist? None of this is making any sense!"

Artemis sighed. "The prep team will be cleaning you guys up, taking care of your hair and pretty much everything else about you. It's basically like they're making you guys look good so you'll get sponsors. Your stylist will be deciding how you will look, what you will wear, and will be the last one to see you before you head to the arena. So basically they're your own personal clothing designer." She explained and sat in one of the chairs. "You guys can sit down if you'd like."

Emy sat down and looked at Jamie, who also sat down. "When will we know who else got chosen?" She asked Artemis. "I'm sure that Jamie would like to know who's going to try to kill us."

"I was actually going to turn the television on to watch the other reapings, if you guys would like to watch." She said. Artemis waited to receive their nods and turned on the television and Mason sat down as they watched the others be chosen.

Emy watched the others. She took note of a few other tributes that volunteered but there was only about 3. As Emy watched, she noticed Mason tense up a little at the mention of a few different tributes' names but decide to ask him later. Jamie looked about as passive as she did but knew that he too was taking note of some of the older tributes and some of the younger ones. It was definitely going to be hard to face some of these people in the arena, that was for certain.

When the show ended, Artemis turned off the television and looked at the pair. "We'll go ahead and eat, if you guys want. We have to go over to the dining car but I'm sure that you guys have a lot to think on tonight already." She said to the pair, who nodded. "Well, to dinner then..."

* * *

Sophia walked into the train with Yosuke and the two followed Ines to the sitting room car of the train. Their escort was a woman with short hair the color of midnight. She appeared to be like Star but something about her demeanor seemed different. She seemed to be not as enthused as her counterpart. Star was also much more normal looking with long reddish-brown hair, styled into a braid down her back, and a very light blue dress that ruffled at the bottom and brought out her sky blue eyes.

"Ah, you must be the tributes. I'm Elizabeth Costella. Don't worry though." Elizabeth stated, seeing their disparaged looks. "I know you've already met Star but I'm a lot different. You guys can call me Eliza." She told them, seeing the pair perk up a bit. "I'm going to be your escort before the games and I'll be helping Ines to mentor you as well. Would you guys like to go ahead and see who you'll be competing against?" She asked them.

Sophia looked at Yosuke and back at Eliza. "Well, I would rather not. I'm still a bit worn down from earlier today. Will we have any other chance to find out who they are?" She asked Eliza.

Eliza listened to Sophia before frowning. "Unfortunately, not so much. The next time you'll get to see all their faces is after they get their scores from the Gamemakers after the final private training session." She told her honestly. "Watching the reapings, though, can give you an idea of each person and who might be more of a threat."

Yosuke looked at Sophia before putting his hand on her shoulder. "We should probably go ahead and watch them. It's better to know who is going to try to kill us now rather than later." He told her honestly.

Sophia nodded at Yosuke's bit of insight. "You're right." She told him and took a seat on the loveseat. "I just don't know if I'll be able to keep from being so mad at so many more young kids getting picked. I mean, we're 7th years. We're not even prepared for this so these 12-year-old second years and 13-year-old third years are definitely not that prepared, are they?" Sophia asked him honestly.

Yosuke looked at Sophia as he saw beside her. "I'm not sure. Every school and the area they serve is different. Maybe we're just the lucky ones that don't have to worry about it?" He suggested to her. "Regardless, we need to know who we're up against if we want to live through the first night...or who knows how many night that last after that." He pointed out to her.

Sophia nodded in understanding and looked at Eliza. "Alright, let's go ahead and watch this. I'd rather know who wants to kill me now than later..." She said, sitting back on the couch. As the tributes were shown, Sophia commented to Yosuke about a few of them being ones to look out for. "There's that pair from the Cherry Blossom Academy...I don't think I'm going to trust them, to tell you the truth."

Yosuke nodded. "My mom used to live near Dawn's family. I wouldn't trust her either." He agreed with Sophia and looked at one set of tributes a bit closely. "Doesn't she remind you of someone?" He asked Sophia curiously, pointing out one girl tribute as she volunteered.

Sophia looked closely at the female tribute from Durmstrang. "That's strange. She almost reminds me of Artemis." She told Yosuke honestly and then shook her head. "But that's impossible. It's just an uncanny resemblance. There's just too much off about her to account for anything." Sophia noted before thinking a moment. "No." She told him.

"What? I didn't say anything." Yosuke told Sophia.

"I'm not allying with her." Sophia told him, knowing why he must have pointed it out. "She looks ready to kill the first person in her way. No." She told him.

Yosuke sighed. "Look, Sophia...we can't just kill everyone that crosses our paths." He told her honestly and looked back at the screen. "Maybe if we help her, she can help us. I bet she knows some stuff from Durmstrang that might help us. Allies aren't a bad thing."

Sophia sighed, shaking her head. "Fine. We'll take the Durmstrang girl in. I just don't know why you all of a sudden want this girl to come with us." She told him honestly.

"I don't know either." Yosuke responded before watching another reaping in another school. "But I know that watching her volunteer for her sister reminded me of Emy." He told her honestly. "That's gotta be worth something."

After watching the reapings, the group walked into the dining car and began to eat some of the feast that was spread over the table. Halfway through the meal, Sophia glanced over at her mother. Something wasn't right with Ines since they boarded the train.

"Are you alright, Mom?" Sophia asked Ines curiously.

Ines nodded. "Yeah, Sophia. I'm alright. I'm just not feeling all that well. I get motion sickness on these trains anymore. I think I'm going to go to bed early." She told them as she got up from the table and smiled. "I've got a lot of faith in you two." She told them brightly and left the car.

Sophia sighed, looking at her food and taking another bite. "This is all wrong." She said shaking her head as she took a drink from the glass of wine. "I'm heading to my bed." Sophia said, finishing her wine in a couple gulps. She looked at Yosuke. "Besides, hard to tell how soon we'll be there tomorrow."

Yosuke nodded. "Alright." He said before lowering his voice to a whisper. "I'll see you later." He told her and gave her a kiss before she left. "I love you, Sophia."

Sophia smiled softly at Yosuke. "And I love you, Yosuke." She said, heading to her room.

* * *

In the train where Caleb and Jerika were, the pair sat on chairs staring at one another. Their escort hadn't arrived and Felix was sitting between the two, hoping that one of them would say something. The silence was so awkward.

Felix sighed. "Look, you guys aren't going to get anywhere if you stare at each other." He told them honestly, causing the two to look at him. "I mean, you guys might as well get to know one another because you'll probably be counting on the other to watch your back in the arena. This isn't the time to go trudging off by yourself and ignore one another." He told them simply. "So at least _try_ to learn about one another. I mean, hell, you guys can tell one another a secret if it'll get you two closer. Not like either of you will talk about all this if you make it out."

Caleb listened to Felix and then looked at Jerika before he sighed. "I'm Caleb Porter, I'm 15 so I'm a 5th year students...and I have a baby girl on the way with Aly Steele but if you tell anyone else that, I'll kill you." He told her honestly, not holding back how he felt about telling her that.

Jerika stared a Caleb a minute as she thought about what to say. She didn't have many secrets but maybe they could work together. Her dad was probably right...he was _always_ right. "I'm Jerika Astrid, I'm 12 so I'm a 2nd year, and I'm a seer so I can see the future but Dad and Grandma Ines have a lot more abilities than I do." She told Caleb and folded her arms as she leaned back in the chair. "So what's your opinion on the chance we have?" She asked him.

Caleb shrugged. "I have no clue. I mean, those Hufflepuffs are close to my year. Diggory is a 5th year, so he's at least 15 and Bones is a 4th year, so she's at least 14." He told Jerika honestly. "I'm more worried about the competition we have outside of Hogwarts. I mean, we have 8 other schools to worry about and I want to know who we've got coming from there."

Jerika was about to reply to Caleb when a man walked in. The small group looked up quickly to see a man who appeared to be probably mid to late thirties. He looked athletic and he had a young appearance to him. He was dressed much less flashy than Star had been and he looked normal with his bronze-colored hair. He looked at the two for a moment.

"You two must be the Slytherin Tributes." He stated and the two nodded. "My name is Finnick and I will be your escort for the games and I will also be helping Felix here mentor you both." Finnick told them. "I would imagine that you're both wanting to know who you're up against, correct?"

Caleb and Jerika exchanged glances and nodded. Caleb wanted to know the competition so that he could watch his own back. He didn't want to kill Jerika by any accounts but he had his sights set on getting back to Aly and their soon-to-be born daughter, Angela. He hoped to get back, more than anything in the world.

Finnick nodded and sat on the couch by Felix as he turned on the reaping broadcast and they all watched as different tributes were reaped from the schools. "Watch out for the volunteers. Some of them do it with good intentions but there may be one or so that are doing it to get in the games and come out as the victor." He told the pair honestly and saw the Durmstrang girl tribute volunteer and head to the front. He almost dropped the remote in shock. Finnick looked at Jerika and Caleb before looking back at the girl. He knew that it wasn't her, she was too old to participate now, but damn...she sure looked like her.

The two tributes stared at Finnick a moment before looking at one another and Felix before looking back at the television. Deep down, they knew that if someone stunned Finnick early on, they were someone to watch for. Both of them took note of this tribute and despite the fact that she didn't look dangerous, they knew that she wasn't one to be taken lightly at all. They all watched the rest of the tributes before the end and Finnick turned the television off and stood up.

"We should go ahead and eat." Finnick told them and smiled a little. "Don't worry too much about it." He assured them. "At least it doesn't look like there are any professionals. There's a few bigger guys and beastly girls but nobody that's quite...career-like about it. I think you guys will do just fine." He added before giving them a light smile. "Let's go eat, shall we?"

Caleb and Jerika nodded with slight smiles. As they left for the dining car, Caleb stayed back a moment in the sitting room area and sighed, putting his hands behind his head as he looked around.

Was it really just a couple of days ago that he and Aly were sitting under that big oak tree, talking about the future and planning on settling down together when they were older to raise a family together? It felt like a lifetime ago as he stood there on the train. Caleb felt a jerk and acknowledged that the train had begun to move. He looked out the window and watched countryside start to pass them by. He then shook his head and headed to the dining room. Whatever they were headed to, it wasn't going to be like any regular day at Hogwarts.

* * *

**_Author's Note :_**_ Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far! I want to say thanks to all the reviews so far! This story is getting a lot more attention than I expected! I do want to clarify that in this story, Finnick survived the rebellion and is still with Annie and their child. Also, expect more familiar faces soon!_

**_bishopknight _:** _Thank you so much for your review. It actually made my day to get such a detailed review! I wanted to answer some of your questions that you'd asked in this author's note so in case anyone else was curious. Artemis has 3 biological children with Sebastian right now and she claims Lemuel as her step-son. For the school situation, it's part of a plot point that Hogwarts is sending in 8 students while the other 9 only have to send in two. This leaves the games with 24 tributes total. I also wanted to thank you for pointing out the dates, as I actually had a year wrong anyways. I meant for the 35 years and 11 years to elapse so that Voldemort fell in 1998 and the other dark wizard fell from power in 2022. So, the current year of events is 2033. I am glad that you brought up these important points because they're pretty central plot points to the story...well, except the last one but it was still pretty important!_

_To all my readers, if you have any other questions, feel free to ask them at any time and I can answer them in the following chapter or in a PM if you have a account, it just depends on the question content, honestly. Keep on reading and keep reviewing, please. :)_


	4. Unexpected Faces

_**Chapter 4 : Unexpected Faces**_

* * *

It was the next day before the trains were finally arriving in Germany. All the tributes were awoken by their escorts and told to prepare to go inside and be in possession of their token that they would be taking with them into the arena. It wasn't long before the tributes were hustled out after breakfast and into the prep area where they were surrendered to their prep teams so they could get them ready. It wasn't long before the sounds of gasps of pain and discomfort were being heard.

"I think you took off a whole bleeding layer of skin, lady!" Sophia snapped at one of her prep team members. She hadn't been introduced with them quite yet to be able to call them by name. All she knew was the removal of that wax strip hurt like no other. She had to remain laying down but this prepping felt more like torture.

"I'm sorry but it has to be done." The woman told her with a kind voice. "If it's any consolation, my name is Katerina." She told Sophia kindly. Katerina had violent pink hair but soft blue eyes, almost the color of the sky at midday. "Now, this next one is going to hurt but after it, we only have one more to go so I'll try to go fast." Katerina told Sophia honestly before she pulled one off and quickly did the other. "All done."

Sophia nodded. She had been completely stripped of the hair on her arms, legs, torso, underarms, and parts of her eyebrows. She didn't think that she had much hair but apparently she had enough for them to rip off. "So, is this everything?" Sophia asked. Her skin was red from the irritation of the waxing.

"Almost. Isis will be taking you back to your bath to soothe your skin and William will be helping us to finish getting you ready so that you can meet your stylist." Katerina told her and gave an encouraging smile. "Nobody will be able to recognize you when she gets done with you. You'll look completely like a new creature."

Sophia frowned a little. "That's what I'm afraid of." She told Katerina with a small frown. "I still wanna be me...yet I want to be unforgettable. I want them to remember my face." She explained to her honestly.

Katerina gave Sophia a gentle smile. "Sounds like you have a special boy that you really want to not forget you." She told her and began to lead her towards the bath area. "Trust me. You're so beautiful that if this causes him to not remember you, then you weren't that special to him." Katerina said before handing her off to Isis. "I'll see you in a moment."

Sophia nodded as Isis helped her into the bath. Isis had white hair that offset her amber eyes. Isis gently began to rub in a moisturizing bath gel to Sophia's angry pink skin. Sophia looked at her curiously. "Is your hair naturally like that?" She asked.

Isis smiled gently. "Yeah, I was born this way. My mother used to say that it was because a moon spirit blessed me when I was a baby but I'm just not sure." She told Sophia honestly. "It catches people's eyes a lot, not unlike your blonde hair, I'm sure."

Sophia shrugged. "Well, it's not quite as striking as your hair." She told Isis honestly. Sophia chuckled softly. "It's so weird, to be sitting here talking about hair at a time like this."

Isis looked at Sophia and put a hand on her shoulder in a comforting way. "Well, maybe when you talk about something natural, it makes you less nervous and worried." She offered her explanation before looking at the girl. "Well, you're done with your bath and you're already starting to turn a normal color so I think you're ready for a last look over and then we can send you to your stylist." She told Sophia honestly, helping her dry off and put on her robe.

Sophia looked at Isis. "When will I get to see Yosuke, the other tribute?" She asked her curiously.

"Don't worry, honey. You'll see him right before the chariot ride, after we're finished getting you ready." Isis told her and chuckled softly. "Now, let's go get you to your stylist."

* * *

A few rooms over, Emy was finally getting ready to meet her stylist. She walked into the next room, her robe wrapped tightly around herself, when a man came into her vision. He didn't look as threatening as the Aurors. He actually looked genuinely nice. He had light brown hair and the most piercing gray eyes. His skin was pretty fair and it made Emy look even more tan than she was.

The stylist walked up to her and smiled. "My name is Nathaniel." He introduced himself to her and saw her apprehension. "It's alright, Emyrillis. I won't hurt you. I'm your stylist and I just need to get a sense of you to make sure what to do with you." Nathaniel told her and looked her over quickly. "Well, you've got some of the smallest stature that I've worked with for a while." Nathaniel commented before looking over her face. "Your eyes are a gray-blue, I'll try to bring that out. I'm just glad that the costume will hopefully make you look fierce." He told her.

Emy looked at Nathaniel's face. "But I am fierce. Small...but fierce." She told him. "And please don't call me Emyrillis. Emy will do."

Nathaniel smiled and nodded. "I know. You've just gotta make sure to keep that mentality and you've also got to remember how you appear on the outside too. You're small but you're not going to be ruled out early on." He said and his eyes met hers. "I want to make sure that they remember you. You're not just some girl but you're a fighter and you're going to try to win this, Emy." He told her honestly. "So, want to eat some lunch and then we'll get you fitted?" He asked her.

Emy nodded. "I am pretty hungry." She admitted and the two sat across from one another on the couches as lunch appeared on the table. They both began to eat soon after.

The silence was pretty thick as the two ate for a moment together. Nathaniel then looked up at Emy. "You must think that all this is pretty barbaric, don't you?" He asked her and Emy looked up from her lunch with a questioning glance. "The idea of the games and everything."

Emy nodded quietly. "I think that it is but I came to protect someone that I care about a lot. So...spending my time decrying the brutality of such an event is a luxury that I can't exactly afford." She told Nathaniel honestly. "Why are you involved?" She asked.

Nathaniel looked away a minute before looking back at Emy. "It's something that I'm used to." He admitted to her. "I come from a place called the Capitol in country called Panem in a future alternative universe to yours. A lot of people left there and came to your time and universe to get away from it. We arrived roughly 20 years ago and people continue to come here even today. It's kind of an underground operation that we worked out with some of your leaders. For a lot of us, it was too hard to remain there after the war." He admitted.

Emy looked at Nathaniel and could tell that he had seen a lot of things that she would probably never see. Suddenly, she wanted to know more. Emy felt that he knew things that might help them. "Nathaniel, did you guys have something similar to these 'Survival Games'?" She asked him. "Please, if you know anything, can you help me?"

Nathaniel looked around a moment. "Come with me." He told her, appearing to change subjects. "Let's go get you fitted." He said and lead her to the fitting room where there were no cameras or Aurors or anything. He took a deep breath. "Are you sure you want to hear this?" He asked, his eyes searching hers for a brief moment.

Emy nodded. "Of course. I need to know these things. If you know anything, it might help me to get through this that we have here." She told him.

Nathaniel looked at her a moment before sighing. "Okay, I'm going to work on your costume and I'll tell you everything that I know." He told her and got out the outfit, having Emy put it on.

Looking at the costume with some confusion, Emy began to put the costume dress and noticed how the fiery crimson red on top flowed down into a yellow and red hem lining, causing a shimmer effect at the bottom that looked like a fire. The sleeves from half-way above the elbow to her wrists were made of a see-through material, flecked in swipes of red red and yellow paint that shimmered in the light. The dress trailed down to below her knees and then, underneath it and all the way to her ankles was the same see-through material with the same paint swipe colors. As Emy slipped on the red, sheer top fabric, ballet style flats, she looked in the mirror and was almost shocked. She appeared to be on fire and when she shifted, everything about her shimmered.

Nathaniel smiled. "It fits you better that I could have imagined." He told her and looked her over. "You don't need any adjustments and I guarantee that they won't forget you. There's a little more to add to this but we'll save it until after we talk." He told her honestly.

Emy nodded before she sat down in one of the provided chairs. "So, did anything like this ever happen in Panem? This can't be the only time it has ever occurred." She questioned him.

Nathaniel settled into a chair and nodded. "Something exactly like this happened in Panem. It happened for 75 years straight." He told her honestly and folded his hands together in his lap. "You see, we had an even called The Hunger Games. It happened after the Capitol squashed a rebellion of our 13 districts by seemingly destroying the 13th district. They created a Treaty of Treason and every year, each district had a drawing where 1 girl and 1 boy were chosen to represent the districts. So ever year we had 24 tributes, except during the Second Quarter Quell in the year of the 50th Hunger Games and then there were 48 tributes, 4 from each district. Every 25 years was a special games, called the Quarter Quells, and there would be a special twist to the games. For the first quell, the tributes were voted on by their district members and the second quell, as I said, had two extra tributes from each district. But every year, the rule was the same. Only one tribute comes out alive." He explained to her. "Then, during the 74th, there were two winners when Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, both from District 12, nearly committed suicide to come out alive together."

As she listened, Emy was surprised. She couldn't imagine a place that did this every year when just going through it this year was terrifying enough. "So what happened during the 75th games? It would've been the Third Quarter Quell, correct?" Emy questioned.

Nathaniel nodded. "It was the Third Quarter Quell and what happened was that instead of new tributes, the Capital stated that victors would be chosen and they would compete. The President at the time, President Snow, was mad that Katniss and Peeta had acted in such defiance and caused rebellions to begin across Panem. So he tried to squash the rebellions by trying to be rid of the two supposed icons. On the third day, however, in the 24th hour, the resistance, led by the supposedly defunct District 13, worked with several individuals and destroyed the barrier, allowing them to collect 3 of the 6 tributes that were left by that point but the Capital kidnapped the other 3 and some others. After that, there was a war and Snow was removed from power. However, we stopped hosting the Hunger Games because we saw them as a symbol of the Capitol's heartlessness." He explained to her and sighed. "I just hope there is something to save you kids. This isn't really the first year of these games but it is the first year that such a vast amount of people is involved. I just hope it ends after this." He told Emy honestly. "I don't want to see you die."

Emy gave Nathaniel a small smile. "Thank you so much for telling me all this." She told him and nodded. "I won't die. I'll do everything in my power to stay alive." She admitted to him and thought a moment. "Is there anyone that may have come from Panem or that may have children from there that I ought to watch for?" She asked him, hoping that he would tell her.

Nathaniel looked at her and nodded. "I'm afraid that there is at least one competitor that has knowledge that greatly eclipses yours, if not two. The girl tribute from Durmstrang is a daughter of a former resident of District Twelve. If she offers to form an alliance with you, I suggest that you take it. She doesn't look as strong or as brutal as the others but she knows more than she seems to. Her name is Evani." He told Emy honestly. "I'm only telling you this because it's more common knowledge than anything and I want to help you in whatever small way that I can."

"Thank you." Emy told Nathaniel honestly and looked in the mirror. "I'm glad that I got placed with such a great stylist as you." She told him honestly.

"Well, you're not done yet." Nathaniel reminded her and got her to sit in a chair as he carefully applied some makeup and a headpiece made of gold that had a strange flowing feeling to it. Nathaniel carefully styled her hair into wavy flowing tresses. "There." He said and had her look in the mirror.

Emy smiled as she looked at herself and she was almost in shock. "Oh wow." She said, trying to remember the person she saw in the mirror. "I look incredible. Thank you so much. But isn't Gold supposed to be solid?" She questioned.

Nathaniel grinned. "Gold is pretty solid but with a little use of magic, we can make it into a liquid-type state that lets the magic make it flow. No one will second guess either of you." He told Emy honestly.

"Both of us?"

"Well, both you and Jamie are dressed in complimentary outfits for your chariot ride. No one will take their eyes off of you, I promise." Nathaniel told her and put a hand on her shoulder. "You'll be known as the Girl on Fire...like Katniss. I only hope that you can firebrand a rebellion like she did once." Nathaniel told her quietly and then had a thought. "Oh! I've got to go get something to finish your costume. Just head up the stairs and you'll meet with Jamie. I'll meet with you both up there." He reassured her before rushing out.

Emy tilted her head slightly as she watched Nathaniel leave. "Uhm...okay." She said and began up the stairs. She thought about what he had mentioned to her about Panem and the Hunger Games. Was that really what this was going to be like? Would someone else come into the picture to save them from this barbaric games? Emy wasn't sure but she really hoped so. All she could think was that she wanted to get back to Hogwarts to Matthew, Aly, Eli, and Lemuel. What had she gotten herself into? Or, more likely, what had she saved Aly from?

* * *

Finally, all the tributes were starting to be taken to their chariots so that they would be settled into them by the time that they would be moving towards the square where they would hear a well thought out speech by the leader of this group that lived in almost another world from everyone else.

Emy was getting into her chariot and looked at Nathaniel. "Are you sure that lighting the headpiece on fire is going to be safe?" She questioned him as she looked at Jamie, who seemed to agree with her nervous sentiment.

Nathaniel nodded. "Of course. It's a magical fire. Not Fiendfyre, of course, but a fire that won't burn you guys or your clothes or anything. Synthetic fire, I should say." He reassured Emy. "It'll come from the headpiece and become like a cape of sorts. No one will miss you two."

Jamie looked at his stylist, Charisma. "He's not lying, right?" He asked her for reassurance.

Charisma nodded. "He's telling the truth. You'll be alright." She reassured him. "Trust us, it will make you both unforgettable."

Emy nodded as Nathaniel carefully lit each of their headpieces and smiled. "Astounding. It looks fantastic." Nathaniel commented. "Now go ahead and get ready in your chariots." He told them as he helped Emy into hers and Charisma made sure that Jamie got up into his alright. "Be strong." He told them quietly.

* * *

As the parade line got into position and began to move forward, the many looks of each set of tributes would be displayed on a large banner-like screens, outside of the solid gates that were yet to open. There was also the sound of commentary floating through the air. It seemed like a celebration, almost.

"Here we are to celebrate the 3rd Annual Survival Games! Now, for our commentator, Lark Obsidian, who will be giving the expert opinion about all the tributes' costumes for the chariot rides. Lark?" A voice questioned.

Lark was a man who appeared to be in his late thirties. He had vivid orange hair and light brown eyes. He was barely visible to the tributes except that his hair was too hard to miss, even from a ways down the street. "Thank you for that lovely introduction. It appears that the gates are about to open so soon we'll be seeing all the tributes from the schools. Ah! Here they are." He stated loudly as the crowd turned to watch the chariots begin into the streets.

"First, as you'll notice, we have the two tributes from the Elysian Academy. Their stylists apparently decided to reflect on Greek culture. Melissa Barrister, the female tribute, is dressed in a light indigo blue chiton that barely passes her knees, a take on the Spartan tradition. Ptolemy Dusk, the male tribute, is dressed in a similar chiton but his has a cloak of sorts over it, dyed in the same indigo shade as his female counterpart's. Atop their heads is a golden laurel crown of sorts and it really makes them shine, especially with the gold color reflecting from Melissa's stunning dark blue hair!" Lark commented on the first pair.

Melissa smiled up at the crowd and waved at a few. For a girl of only 14 and being in her 4th year of school, she appeared pleasantly pleased at the cheering. Ptolemy stood with confidence, being 17 and in the end of his 7th year of schooling. He spared some glances to the crowd and gave a few flirtatious winks to some of the girls, causing them to turn red and smile uncontrollably.

"Next we see the tributes from Durmstrang Institute. Their stylists have really outdone themselves with this nod to the uniform color of the students. Evani Hawthorne, the female tribute, is dressed in a blood red dress with a beautiful silver scarf over her shoulders. Donevon Krum, the make tribute, is wearing what appears to be a blood red dress shirt with silver colored slacks. On their heads, they both appear to be wearing a silver circlet style of crown. Evani's appears to be a nod to Celtic style for females and Donevon's looks very similar to our very own victor crown. Guess the stylists were wanting to create a vision for all the viewers!" Lark said with a small smile.

Evani smiled slightly, trying to be sweet as she caught a rose from a spectator and blew them a kiss, watching some try to catch the kiss. She and Donevon were both 16, 6th years, but she appeared to be trying to appeal to the crowd. Donevon attempted to look pleasant enough as he saw a few girls swoon. He was good-looking but he seemed a bit distracted by his own thoughts as he tried to smile a little and wave.

"Next, we have the Ravenclaw House tributes from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry which has _eight_ students in the games for its first year! Sophia Astrid, the female tribute, is looking positively deadly in a black button up t-shirt and tight black slacks. Over all that, she's wearing a light blue cloak that is designed with many intricate patterns of what appears to become bronze wings. Yosuke Kino, the male tribute, is wearing an identical outfit and appears to be sharing glances with Sophia. I wonder what the stylists still have planned?" Lark questioned, not missing hardly any detail.

Sophia shared a smile with Yosuke as the pair pulled their hoods over their heads, the bronze designs suddenly becoming eagle wings from that back of their cloaks. Sophia smiled as she pulled her hood back and saw the crowd cheering ecstatically and she carefully caught a blue rose, giving a smile to the thrower. Yosuke was grinning when he pulled his down as he winked at a group of females.

The tributes from Washington State School of Magic passed without much appraise. Bianca Archer, 16 and a 6th year student, received some kind comments about her tan colored dress while Preston Whitlock, 17 and a 7th year student, received remarks about his obvious stronger build and his stylist's choice of dark brown slacks with a tan, sleeveless button up shirt. The Appalachian Academy of Magic tributes also passed by and were given nice comments about their more reserved style. Felicity Evans was dressed in a simple dark brown blazer with a black tank-top underneath and black slacks. Her fellow tribute, Tristan Coal, was dressed in a similar outfit. They were one of the youngest groups, both of them being about 13-years-old and 3rd years.

"Now we have the Slytherin House tributes from Hogwarts! The school never seems to fail to impress, that's for sure!" Lark stated brightly. "Jerika Astrid appears to be wearing a green snakeskin leather dress that makes her look like a bombshell. Caleb Porter is also wearing a suit made of similar material and they both what appears to be a silver snake made out of some other material over their shoulders. The crowd is definitely loving this!" He said.

Jerika was managing to really catch the eyes of many of the audience. For being the youngest female tribute, she wasn't letting the others take all the glory. Caleb was smiling brightly and doing his best to show himself as a likeable guy. They were definitely catching plenty of attention.

Following right behind was the Salem Institute. Tessa Wesson, 15 and a 5th year, was wearing a classy silver outfit that glittered and shone as she moved. Zephyr Selt, 18 and a 7th year, was wearing a similar outfit and both caught eyes as they glittered their way down the avenue, really bringing a lot of shine. The Beauxbatons tributes weren't far behind and their stylists brought out a lot from their school colors. Fennel Dyer, who was stated to be 15 and a 5th year, was dressed in a lacy powder blue dress that flowed down to her ankles, being tasteful yet showing some of her more prominent features, like her stronger arms and calves. Xavier Barrister, 16 and a 6th year student, however, was dressed with a powder blue satin-like material fashioned like a set of regular dress robes that displayed the Beauxbatons emblem prominently on the back in silver.

Not far behind was the Cherry Blossom Institute tributes. Their stylists had obviously decided to play on the name and location. Dawn Primrose, the 17 year old female who was in her 7th year, was in a one-shoulder dress that was decorated in the light pink cherry blossoms and was a pale pink in color. Her male counterpart, Nils Aster, was only 14 and a 4th year. He was dressed in a similar colored outfit, situated more like a toga to compliment Dawn's off-the-shoulder dress. His outfit featured a belt of the cherry blossoms as well as a laurel wreath inspired cherry blossom headpiece for both of them.

"Next, we see Hufflepuff House from Hogwarts and it appears that they are really doing a throwback to the Triwizard Tournament outfits. Philip Diggory has on a shirt that really replicates the one worn by Cedric Diggory, perhaps a relative? He also has on black pants with yellow stripes down both sides that let the yellow really come out. Tara Bones is dressed in a similar shirt and pants while the pair also has on the trademark yellow robes of the Quidditch teams. Perhaps the stylists were trying to echo back to a sense of old pride and honor with these wonderful throwbacks?" Lark suggested brightly.

Philip was giving a small smile to the crowd as he waved at many of the cheering attendants. He was 15 and a 5th year but he still had high hopes to come out of this with a win, not wanting to have his family bury another teenager like they did so many years ago. Tara Bones was looking up at the crowd with a determined but slightly timid look. She was only 14 and in her 4th year but even she wanted to live through these wicked games just to go home.

Next passed the Australian School of Magic and they were dressed in a very safari-like manner. Electra Border, the oldest female tribute at the age of 18 and in her 7th year, was wearing a fitted khaki button up shirt and shorts that were below the knees. Mateo Cail, only 14-years-old and in his 4th year, was dressed in a similar outfit but with pants instead of shorts. Both of them appeared pretty strong and fit, a trait pretty common with most of the older tributes.

"Finally, we have the Gryffindor House tributes from Hogwarts. And they appear to be _on fire_! Apparently, the stylists have fixed them up with what appears to be a golden headpiece that has fire flowing down it! Emyrillis Steele is in a crimson red dress that goes to her knees and as it travels down, there's flecks of gold in it that appear to be like a flicker of fire, obviously a nod to house colors. She also appears to have a thin material on her arms and legs that gives the impression of more fire. Jamie Potter appears to have on dress robes that compliment with the red and that have a lot of gold designs emblazoned on the sleeves and on the pants. Make it no question that these two tributes won't be forgotten!" Lark announced with a sense of excitement.

* * *

As all the tributes reached the Tribute Circle, they arranged themselves in front of a high balcony as the cameras soon focused on the area. After a moment, a figured stepped out from the doorway and there was no question that it was the leader as the crowd cheered but a sense of dread traveled through several of the tributes. They knew that face from pictures and stories they'd been told when they were younger. Only now did they come face to face with a very dangerous enemy that they had yet to lay eyes upon themselves...excluding Sophia who had met the individuals many years before.

"Let us now welcome our leader, Minister Alyson Barrister, as she gives the opening welcome for our tributes!" Lark announced proudly before allowing Alyson to go ahead with her speech.

"I welcome you all to the Third Annual Survival Games. To the tributes, you receive a special welcome as your courage and bravery has brought you all here." Alyson stated, her green eyes looking over the tributes cautiously. "I hope that you will all represent your schools well and I would last of all like to wish you all a Happy Survival Games. May the odds be _ever_ in your favor when you enter the arena." She announced, kindly waving at the crowd as she pushed back her blonde hair and gave a sickeningly sweet smile to the tributes.

After the speech, the tributes' chariots disappeared into the bottom area of the Training Center, where they would stay as they prepared before entering the arena. As the tributes entered the Training Center, they were bustled up to their rooms in the elevator where many of their escorts and mentors were waiting on them to watch the recap of the parade and to talk about what had just transpired. The games definitely just earned themselves a new twist of danger.

* * *

_**Author's Note : **Whew! What a chapter! Sorry that I haven't gotten this out for a while but it's taken a while with making sure that I got some pretty decent costumes as well as figuring out a particular order. Hopefully, in the next chapter, there'll be a little more excitement. Don't forget to review! :)_


	5. Secrets and Training

_**Chapter Five : Secrets and Training**_

* * *

After Emy and Jamie finally went to bed, Artemis received a letter, asking her to the Minister's home. She scrunched up her nose and looked at Mason. "I've got to go." She told him, holding the envelope between her first and middle finger.

Mason looked at her, a bit surprised. "Are you sure that's wise?" He asked her curiously. "Even you said that you couldn't face her by yourself."

"I doubt she'll try anything with so many people in this town of hers." Artemis reminded him and shook her head. "I think that I should go. She may tell me something of value. Besides, I doubt that I'll have much choice to refuse with all the Aurors she has crawling around." She pointed out and then sighed. "But, if by some weird coincidence I don't come back or something happens, call this person to take my place." Artemis said, giving him a piece of paper with a name and a number.

Mason looked at the paper and was a bit confused. "But I thought you said that he was on some big undercover mission or something." He questioned Artemis.

Artemis turned back to Mason and gave him a small grin. "Oh, he is but trust me when I say that he'll come running." She reassured Mason. "You know as well as I do why." She said, their eyes meeting.

"Ah, I see what you mean." Mason said, understanding what Artemis meant. "Just watch your back." He told her honestly.

"I will." Artemis said before going down the elevator and walking off. She pulled her cloak around herself as it was below freezing in the city, which she had expected for March. Artemis crossed the square before showing an invitation slip to the auror guards who allowed her entry to the Minister's mansion. She followed a guard to the sitting room, where she saw Alyson. Until that day, she hadn't seen her twin sister but she could tell that she had changed drastically. Alyson had straight, blonde hair instead of her usual curly, brown hair. Her green eyes were the same but she had completely changed physically. Artemis was surprised at the change but decided to not let it show outwardly.

"It's been a long time, Alyson." Artemis commented quietly as the guard left the room at a nod from Alyson. "You've changed quite a bit though I'm not too surprised after you've been hiding for so long."

Alyson turned and smiled slightly at Artemis. "Artemis...I'm actually surprised that you came alone. I figured that you would have enlisted a few of your friends to come with you." She stated to her sister. "Not that I plan to do anything, mind you. My luck is that I'd turn you into a baby phoenix and then you'd just go tattle to one of them. Not what I need right now." Alyson said, shaking her head. "And we just had the carpets cleaned yesterday."

Artemis looked at Alyson, surprised at her sister's ideas. "Well, if you don't want to kill me then why did you ask me here?" She asked her twin. "We haven't talked in years...not since that day at the beach house when you came over to see the twins when they were like two. Since then, you've done almost unspeakable things and I can't see myself agreeing to hardly anything you could possibly offer me. So...enlighten me to what all this is about."

"Perhaps setting you up to become Headmistress after I left was a good idea after all. You certainly get to the point pretty quickly." Alyson stated thoughtfully before sitting in a chair and motioned for Artemis to take a seat across from her. "Well, sit down. The furniture is reasonably friendly."

Artemis stared at Alyson as she sat down cautiously. She then looked at Alyson, a bit perturbed. "Alright." She said before relaxing a bit. "Whats all this about then?"

Alyson looked thoughtful a moment before a house-elf brought her a glass of red wine. She took a drink before looking at Artemis as she sat it down on the end table beside her seat. "Well, as you know, your daughter Emyrillis is going into that arena." She said to Artemis before leaning back in her seat. "I can almost imagine your worry. So I brought you here to make an offer in exchange for something else." She said, an evil glimmer visible in her eyes.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Artemis asked, looking at Alyson very warily. "Knowing you, it can't be anything good."

Alyson gave Artemis a sly grin. "Even after all these years, you still know me so well." She told her and then took another sip of wine. "I offer to tip the odds in Emy's favor if you will just have Emy step aside from one of the other tributes...perhaps even gravely injure one of them." She stated, putting her offer up.

"No." Artemis told Alyson. "I will not have my child become a piece in your little mind games."

Alyson looked at Artemis with a devilish smile. "I haven't even mentioned who. It wasn't even another Hogwarts student. I just wanted them to take down Evani, the tribute from Durmstrang." She said in a soft tone.

Artemis looked at Alyson, her face trying to stay controlled while her anger inside flared. "Didn't you hear me? I said no. Emy is not your little toy to have move around the board for fun." She said before looking towards the fire, her eyes narrowing.

"Oh, I see. You're protective of her." Alyson said to Artemis, a small grin passing her lips. "It's no use to hide it. I know that she's like the rest of us...a half-phoenix. It's not hard to miss a strong power signature like that."

Artemis was starting to get a little more irritated with Alyson as she tried to control her anger, clenching her fist around a handful of the material of her cloak. "I said no, Alyson." She said as calmly as possible.

Alyson looked at Artemis a moment before getting a look of realization. "Oh, I see." She said, looking at her sister closely. "This isn't just about power. This is about blood. I can't believe I overlooked that." She said, noticing Artemis looking at her in slight surprise. "I see now. Her mother's the Headmistress, isn't she? Ilyria Hawthorne...or wasn't it Black before she married? I should have remembered that Evani would be the granddaughter of the daughter you barely even knew. How silly of me." Alyson said with a seemingly pleasant smile.

Artemis glared at Alyson. "Don't you dare touch my family, Alyson. I will not hesitate to..." She stared to say, her anger finally getting the best of her.

"What? Kill me? We both know that you don't have enough power to do it. Besides, we're immortal, Artemis. You can 'kill' me all you want but I'm going to come right back." Alyson reminded Artemis before shrugging. "No matter. Once they're in the arena, there's nothing anyone can do so it'll all be up to chance." She said, a sense of malice in her voice. "You can leave if you'd like."

Artemis got up and looked at Alyson. "You're sick, you know that?" She asked her twin and shook her head. "Dad would be so disappointed as would everyone else." Artemis turned to leave.

"Yeah, tell me something I don't already know." Alyson told Artemis as she watched her sister leave. However, before Artemis could reach the door, Alyson thought up something. "Wait." Alyson said, causing Artemis to turn around.

"What do you want now?" Artemis asked, her fists still clenched by her sides as she watched her sister get up and cross the room. However, by the time she caught the flash of steel, she was too slow.

Alyson grinned maliciously as she embedded the knife into her sister's shoulder a little further. "I'll leave that as a gift for you. Good luck getting it out, it's a pretty fancy survival knife, you know...the ones with a clean edge and a serrated edge. Goodnight, Arti." Alyson said and left the room, leaving her sister leaning against the door frame in agony.

Artemis gritted her teeth as she carefully used her cloak to hide the wound until she made it back to the training center and to the 12th floor. She walked in, starting to stagger a bit before making her way into a chair in the dining room. "Now how do I get the damn thing out?" She asked herself as she winced when she barely touched the knife.

Mason was walking out of the kitchen, oblivious to what may have transpired. "They have some great pies in there! You should come..." He began before his eyes found the knife and widened. "What the hell happened?" He asked Artemis, lowering his voice as he walked over to her and began to judge the injury, knife still embedded of course. "We need to get this cleaned up. You can tell me while I'm doctoring your arm up cause Nolan's probably already..." Mason began.

"No, you should probably get Nolan. It's pretty deep in there." Artemis told Mason and watched him get out a cell phone. "Who would've thought that we'd all be using more muggle technology?" She asked him with a chuckle. She had one as well because they were just more efficient than trying to send an owl or a memo note these days.

"Yeah." Mason said before talking to Nolan a moment and telling him the situation. He then hung up the phone. "He'll be here in a minute. You hanging in okay?" He asked Artemis.

"Well, I'm just glad I turned enough for her to miss anything extremely vital. But as for hanging in here...I don't have much of a choice." Artemis said, giving Mason a small smile before shifting a little in the seat. "As long as it's not too serious, I'll stay. I'm just worried I may have to leave and not be here to help out." She told him honestly.

Mason looked at her and gave a small chuckle. "You're sitting her with a knife at least several inches long embedded in your shoulder and you're worried about staying?" He asked before shaking his head. "If you have to go, I'll still be here to take care of Emy and Jamie. I'll call that number you gave me and we'll take care of everything."

"I need to ask you a favor for if I do have to go and it's going to sound silly." Artemis told Mason, looking up at him. "I need you to talk either Emy or Jamie into forming an alliance with Evani."

"Why?" Mason asked her. "I hope you don't mind me saying this but she looks like she'd be the first one to kill anybody that gets in her way."

"It's complicated."

"How is it complicated? She could turn on them at any minute."

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you, Artemis." Mason said, looking at Artemis. "I just don't understand what your reasoning is." He told her honestly.

Artemis sighed, looking at Mason. "Evani is family, okay? Her mother was born around the same time as Ines and Ethan. Her name's Ilyria and she's my daughter...even if she is the Durmstrang Headmistress. Evani is my granddaughter and I'd like to get to know them after this. Just promise me."

Mason looked floored at the revelation. He never knew that Artemis had a family when his mother did but he knew that family meant the world to Artemis so leaving Evani couldn't have been easy. "Okay, I'll try to talk them into it. I don't know how well they'll go for it, but I'll give it a shot." He agreed. He then saw Nolan enter. "Alright, Nolan will get you patched up. Just hang in there, Arti."

* * *

After breakfast, the tributes head downstairs for their first day of training in their training uniform. Each tribute had on a similar two-piece uniform with a number, designating the floor and 'District' that they came from. After everyone arrived, the head trainer gave them the rules of the room, which said that they could not fight one another and they were welcome to train wherever they wanted but reminded that by the end of the week, they'd be performing in front of the Gamemakers to get a score that could help influence their sponsors. They then were let go to go wherever they wanted.

Sophia walked over to the plant identification to get a sense about the different plants she could use for food or medicine. She was looking closely at a plant when Preston Whitlock, the Washington State tribute, walked over and knelt down beside her.

"That plant makes a fantastic healing salve of sorts. All you've got to do is either chew it up or use a rock to ground it up and add water. It just depends on what you've got around you." Preston told her, motioning to a leaf. "It's pretty obvious because of the red veins on the green leaf."

"Wow, I wasn't really sure. I thought it was poisonous a minute there." Sophia said, giving Preston a small smile. "I'm Sophia." She introduced herself.

"I'm Preston." Preston said before chuckling softly. "I wouldn't swallow any of it but it's great when used on cuts and things of that sort." He informed Sophia before getting back up. "I'll come talk to you later on. I'm gonna go train somewhere else." He said, giving her a sweet wink before leaving.

Sophia blushed a moment before finishing up at her station and walking over to the climbing section, where she saw Yosuke and she quickly climbed up to him. "I don't know about this whole us pretending to not be engaged thing." She whispered to him, making sure no one overheard."

"You heard what Felix said. If everyone knows, they'll use it against us." Yosuke whispered back as he began climbing across some ropes with Sophia right behind him. "It's better that they don't know."

Sophia raised an eyebrow at Yosuke. "Well, I don't quite like being flirted with either." She pointed out, causing him to look back at her. "One of the guys was flirting with me a minute ago." Sophia stated, shrugging. "Anyways, I just think that it might save us both some grief if we 'fess up to some of it."

Yosuke looked at Sophia closely before stepping up onto the platform. "Eliza said that we have interviews coming up the evening before we go to the arena. I can wait til then and announce it. It might even get us some sponsors. We'll talk to Eliza and your mother later." Yosuke whispered to her and looked around, seeing the others busy, before he gave her a light peck on the lips. "Now, go find something else to do." He said jokingly as he climbed on across a more narrow beam.

Across the room, Emy was at the snare station, trying to learn other ways to possibly set up traps for the others. As she was starting to get a little aggravated with a particularly difficult knot, she saw a pair of hands reach forward and tie it for her. Emy glanced up and saw the girl she recognized. Emy examined the knot a moment. "You're really good at that knot." Emy said, looking at the girl.

"Thanks. I'm pretty good at a lot of different ones too, if you want to learn them." The girl said, looking Emy over with her gray eyes a moment. "My name is Evani Hawthorne." She introduced herself, taking a length of rope to work with.

"Emy Steele. And if you'd like to teach me, I'd like to learn some more." Emy replied as she got the knot out of her rope, her own gray-blue eyes meeting Evani's before she looked at the rope a moment. "I hope that you know that I know what you are." She said to Evani honestly.

Evani smiled a little when she heard Emy. "I know that you do because I know that we're the same." She told her honestly, before looking a bit serious as she began to show Emy a new knot. "I saw what you did for your sister. It was really brave of you, considering that both of you are so young. Why'd you do it, though? I mean, it's not like you're her older sister or anything."

Emy was copying Evani's motions with her quick fingers. "It's a bit reassuring to not be the only odd one here." Emy said with a slight sense of relief before hearing Evani's question and she sighed. "It wasn't about age or anything. She's kind of pregnant with my niece and she's close to having her anyways." Emy told Evani in a hushed voice and shrugged. "It wasn't a hard decision to save them. It was like my job to. I don't want glory out of this."

"I don't blame you. It's intimidating to be around others who aren't like you." Evani agreed before nodding. "I think I know what you mean. I actually volunteered for my little sister, Mariska. She was only 12. Course, you wouldn't know by the reaping videos because she was so mad at me for taking her spot and volunteering but I had to keep her safe. It's my job and I, like you, don't want glory for it."

"It's not just intimidating. It's like living up to expectations for hiding what you can do." Emy reminded Evani and looked at her with a new sense of understanding. "I understand now why you were so desperate for them to hear you." She said softly and nodded. "So, would you like to be allies, then? Neither of us want glory and we came to help our siblings." Emy asked.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. At the fire station, I just want to start the fire with my bare hands but I don't want to show them everything just yet. Not til the private sessions with the Gamemakers. It's the best bet to keep all your big talents from everyone else and to get good training scores to help your odds with sponsors." Evani told Emy honestly. "As for being allies, it'll depend on how things go at the Cornucopia."

Emy nodded before looking at Evani a moment. "Looks like you hate the games as much as we do." She said and remembered talking to her stylist, Nathaniel, about the people who came from Panem. She decided not to push it though. "So, is this right?" She asked, showing Evani her knot.

Evani chuckled a little. "It's a good knot, trust me. You just need to practice it more before you put it into practice." She told Emy honestly. Just keep working on it."

Emy nodded with a small smile as she untied the knot and started on it again, resigned to practicing a while with Evani as they talked of home and family. Evani seemed very curious of Australia and Hogwarts while Emy was very interested in hearing about Bulgaria and Durmstrang.

* * *

Finally, the tributes were all allowed to go back to their rooms. Emy and Jamie got off the elevator at their room and saw Mason talking with a man that they hadn't seen yet. Emy looked at Jamie and the two walked towards the living room area, a bit apprehensive. New faces weren't totally good things in this city.

Finally, after a moment, Emy cleared her throat and caused Mason to jump and both he and the man looked towards the two. "If you don't mind me asking, who the hell is this?" Emy questioned Mason before glancing around. "And where is my mother?"

Mason looked at the man before sighing. "Artemis was attacked last night." He told Emy honestly. "Nolan came up to check her and insisted that she return to England to get treated and afterward stay at the school so it had time to heal completely. It was really deep and she really needed to get back to Hogwarts to take care of things so she told me to call this fellow. I'll let him introduce himself." Mason explained to Emy and Jamie.

The man nodded. "My name is Marcus Kane and Artemis had Mason call me to fill her spot after she left. Artemis explained everything to me in case something happened in this situation." He told them honestly. "So, I'll be here to help you and when you're in the arena, I'll be helping with sponsors and gifts."

Jamie looked at Marcus before looking at Emy. "Well, sounds alright." He said honestly before looking back in Marcus. "Not that I really trust you yet but I guess if Artemis trusts you, I can learn to." He stated before shaking his head. "I need some time to think so just...have someone come get me for dinner." Jamie said, leaving the room.

Mason watched Jamie leave before looking back to Marcus and Emy. "I'm going to go talk to him." He stated, following after Jamie.

Emy and Marcus stood there for the longest time, looking at one another. Emy then sighed. "I need to rest as well." She stated and turned to leave.

"Wait." Marcus said, causing Emy to turn around. "You know that I'm here to help you survive, right? To make sure that you make it out alive and that you'll be safe before the games."

Emy looked at Marcus and her eyes caught his a moment. "Thank you." She said quietly before turning away. "Just have someone get me before dinner. I need to go clean up." She stated simply, walking out of the room to leave a stunned Marcus standing there alone.

* * *

_**Author's Note : **I wanted to really bring out this new villain at the beginning of the chapter so I hope you guys aren't too upset about Artemis! I wanted to kind of give a little more introduction to the character's this chapter but you'll get to see more as the story progresses! _


	6. Aim High

_**Chapter Six, Aim High**_

* * *

Finally, it was the last day of training. This meant that the tributes would have their private sessions with the Gamemakers to get their scores to help them get sponsors. Sophia was just pulling on her shirt over her underthings when Yosuke walked in, already dressed.

"So, what are you going to do for your session?" Yosuke asked Sophia, not really paying attention to the fact that she was only half-dressed.

Sophia shrugged as she pulled on her training pants and socks. "I'm really not fully sure, Yo." She told him honestly. "I'm going to see what all is in there and I'll remember what my strength is. Unfortunately, my greatest strength is my smarts but I don't think that will help me." Sophia added as she pulled on her shoes and tied them up. "But to be honest, we should get to breakfast already and then head downstairs. Eliza said that they changed the schedule some and we get scores tonight and tomorrow we have to ourselves and to rest. Day after tomorrow is interviews and then we get thrust into the arena the next day."

Yosuke nodded as he and Sophia walked into the dining room for breakfast, seeing Eliza and Ines already waiting for them as well as their stylists. The pair sat down together and began to eat before Eliza began to speak.

"So, you two have your private sessions today. Have you both decided what you want to do for them?" Eliza asked the pair.

Sophia shrugged. "More or less, yes. I'm trying to stay away from magic and use the other things I've worked on." She told Eliza honestly.

Yosuke thought a moment. "Yeah, I'm hoping to do the same. I don't want everyone to know everything about me. I'm going to show them what I've been working on and hopefully it gets me a good score." He admitted.

Eliza looked at the two. "Well, if there is a point where either of you think you won't get a good enough score, it won't kill you to use some magic. They'll hide whatever you did when you leave so the next tribute won't see it. Doesn't matter if you're not allowed to use it to kill. Showing them your smarts never hurts." She told them honestly.

Sophia nodded. "Yeah." She agreed and she and Yosuke finished breakfast and got on the elevator. Sophia was lost in her thoughts when she felt Yosuke's hand on hers. "Yo, what are you doing? Someone might see." She said to him, pulling it away. She used excuses but she was worried that something would happen before they were able to get an Order rescue to escape the arena. ...Or if the Order would even come.

"I'm just worried about you, Sophia." Yosuke told her quietly, brushing some hair behind her ear that fell in her face. "The closer we get to the Games, the more on edge you seem to be getting." He said and leaned in close. "Tomorrow, we'll spend the whole day together. We'll be fine." He told her quietly.

Sophia nodded as she moved away from Yosuke. "Okay." She said quietly as she straightened up before the doors open and the pair were out in the hallway, waiting for their turn. They called Yosuke in first and Sophia waited outside until he left and then they allowed Sophia to come in.

Sophia surveyed the room carefully before looking at the Gamemakers who gave her a nod. She quickly picked up one of the bows and aimed at the target before firing off a couple perfect shots. She then took out her wand and muttered an extremely complicated spell that hit a dummy at the other side of the room, causing it to explode into blue flames before falling to the floor in a pile of ashes. Sophia looked back up at the Gamemakers, giving them a short bow. "Thank you." She said before putting the bow back on a rack and walking out to go back to her room. She only hoped to have a good score.

* * *

Caleb and Jerika were waiting their turn and sitting together on the bench. They didn't talk much anyways so the silence was pretty normal for them. Everyone was pretty nervous and those that weren't were a smug and a bit full of themselves.

Caleb looked at Jerika. "So, are you ready for this?" He asked her quietly, trying not to draw attention.

Jerika looked at Caleb and nodded. "Of course. What about you? Are you prepared?" She asked him.

Caleb shrugged. "Finnick seems to think so. Of course, I'd be here whether I was prepared or not." He told her honestly before giving Jerika a small smile. "Just don't worry about it. You're going to do fine and get a great score. Just don't forget that you're a witch. Do what it takes to get a good score."

Jerika nodded before hearing them call Caleb's name. "Good luck." She told him quietly.

"Thanks, Jerika. You too." Caleb said before disappearing into the room for a little while. He came back out and gave Jerika a half-smile before going to the elevator to return to the room.

Jerika waited a bit longer before they called her name and she walked into the training room, her eyes searching for the throwing knives and daggers that she'd grown accustomed to. She picked them up before throwing the knives with pristine accuracy at the practice dummy. She then attacked them swiftly with the daggers before throwing one into the center of the dummy's kill area.

The Gamemakers were watching interestedly. The Head Gamemaker nodded at her. "Thank you. You may go." He told her.

Jerika nodded before turning on her heel and leaving the room, keeping her head up. She was sure that she had gotten a good score. Besides, after the scores were out, it'd be easier to pick allies and people to take down.

* * *

Towards the end of the line, Jamie and Emy waited impatiently for their chance to prove themselves. They watch tribute after tribute go in the doors and come back out and go to the elevator.

Jamie looked at Emy as the group had thinned out quite a bit. "So, what are you planning on doing for them?" He asked her curiously.

Emy shrugged. "Show them my skills with a bow. Maybe throw some axes if I have to." She whispered back to him. "What about you?"

Jamie looked thoughtful a minute. "I'm hoping to do something with a mace. Those things are wicked." He told her quietly. "Spears are good too. So, you're not going to use your powers?" He questioned.

Emy looked at Jamie and shook her head, disapprovingly. "Of course not. I'll get better use of them in the arena and I don't want them to know. Besides, I don't want them to know all of my secrets." She told him softly and smiled a little. "Remember, give them your best of what you're good at but don't give them everything. Keep some secrets."

Jamie nodded as they waited. "Just remember to aim a little high if you need to." He told her quietly.

Time passed and finally, Jamie's name was called. He nodded at Emy and then went into the room. Emy waited outside alone, as she was the last tribute, and she just tried to stay patient. Finally, after what seemed like forever, her name was called.

Emy walked into the room, bowing to the Gamemakers, noticing that they were chattering away quite loudly and being a real annoyance. She crossed the room and picked up a bow that was a blackened bronze, a bit heavier than the silver bow that had been used in earlier sessions. She took one of the arrows and lined the tip up with one of the targets, which took longer than usually due to her frustration, before aiming a bit high and she let the arrow go, causing an immediate bulls-eye. Emy sat the bow back on the stand before taking an ax and flinging it towards another dummy with all her strength, wedging it in the skull.

The room had grown quiet and Emy thought that it was because of her precision. She them looked at the two dummies and noticed that both had mysteriously caught on fire. Emy gave the judges a small smile and bowed. "Thank you for your...consideration." She stated before leaving the dumbfounded judges with their mouths slightly agape. Apparently, they hadn't expected for that to happen. Honestly, neither had Emy.

* * *

In the Minister's Mansion, Alyson was watching the private session scores as she sipped on a glass of red wine. She watched the different scores begin to appear on the screen as the Head Gamemaker, Apollo Snow, sat beside her on a separate chair.

The scores began to show up on the screen beside a picture of each of the tributes. Melissa Barrister managed to pull a 10, though Alyson wasn't sure how, and Evani Hawthorne received an 11, which made Alyson have a look of unhappiness, while Donevon Krum pulled out with a 9. Sophia Astrid and Yosuke Kino both managed 10's while Preston Whitlock earned a 9. Felicity Evans earned a 7, Jerika Astrid earned herself a 6, and Caleb Porter pulled ahead a little with an 8. Tessa Wesson earned an 8, Xavier Barrister earned a surprising 9, Tara Bones earned a 5, and Philip Diggory got a 7. Mateo Cail earned a 5, Jamie Potter achieved a 9, and Emy Steele earned herself a 12, the highest score. Many of the other tributes earned between 5 and 8.

At the last score, Alyson's eyes were livid as she took a sip of her wine, her displeasure being obvious. She looked over at Apollo. "I thought we agreed to award them based on talent! What are these scores about?! Evani has an 11, sure to get her plenty of sponsors, and Emy Steele has a 12. That's a bloody perfect score, Snow!" Alyson told him, angry and very much in disbelief.

Apollo looked at Alyson, obviously afraid of the woman. "We did award them on talent! Evani is perhaps the most accomplished survivalist out of the group and Emy surprised us as much as the score surprises you." He told her apologetically. "The other gamemakers were adamant that those scores stick."

Alyson scrunched her nose in displeasure before taking another sip of wine. "Fine. I suppose you know what you're doing. I just want the damn plan to work." She told Apollo as she finished her wine before throwing her glass at the fireplace. "Just do your job." She snapped, leaving the room.

Apollo watched Alyson leave before walking outside. After gaining some distance from the building, he took out his cellphone and pressed a speed dial button and waited as his call rang through. When he heard the phone being picked up on the other end, he gave a sigh of relief. "Part 3 of your plan is complete. Just have the teams ready as soon as possible. We'll give them about 9 days in the arena so you have just under 12 days left to get into position. Stay subtle and we'll have them out soon. I'll keep you posted." Apollo said before hanging up his phone and stowing in his pocket before walking towards his apartments. The next 11 days were definitely going to be trying, that was for sure.

* * *

_**Author's Note : **I decided to really back this chapter down from the others and keep things held back a little for everyone. The next chapter will more than likely be longer but I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! :) _


	7. Truth and Lies

_**Chapter Seven, Truth and Lies**_

* * *

Evani, the female tribute from Durmstrang, was just getting out of bed when her stylist, Ninian, walked into the room. Evani's gray eyes met Ninian's violet eyes when they looked at one another. Neither spoke for a moment as they had gotten off to a bad start in the Remake Center.

"I am going to guess that Ilyria talked you through what you'd have to do during your interview today with Lark, correct?" Ninian questioned Evani.

Evani nodded but then frowned. "We walked through it, yes. However, I've already decided that I do not want to wear heels. I'm not very good at walking them and it would look pretty awful if I were to trip and fall." She pointed out. "So, with that said, what are you having me wear?"

Ninian smiled lightly at Evani. "Well, first we need to get you cleaned up. Then, I'll let you put on your dress. Just remember that this time, you're going to be making an impression, okay?" She told her.

Evani nodded. "It's fine. Let's just go ahead and start getting this over with." She said honestly.

Ninian looked at Evani as the prep team came in to start helping Evani get cleaned up and ready. "Don't wish this night away." She told Evani honestly. "Remember, you go into the arena tomorrow morning."

Evani looked at Ninian with a small frown. "I know. I'm just tired of being a puppet to be strung around by some psychotic lunatic until they're ready to put me in the arena to let me die. Besides, even if I were to make it out, it's hard to tell what they would do with me and I certainly don't want to be someone that has to live my life based on the decisions of somebody else. The way I see it, if I'm going to die, it will be by _my _terms...not theirs." She told Ninian honestly before walking quickly to the bathroom.

Ninian watched Evani leave before hearing water running into the bathtub and she frowned. Evani's words left her wondering if this was even humane by any standard. This had seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime but now, it left her with more questions than answers. She shook her head before looking at the dress and making sure everything was right. It all had to be perfect. It would be Evani's last chance for early sponsors that would make all the difference in the world.

* * *

Sophia's stylist, Lumiere, was zipping up the back of her dark blue dress. It had tons of sequins at the very top with more spread around the dress very lightly. It also had some very light designs of simple flowers made out of a blackened silver material that was very light and beautiful. The dress fit Sophia very snug at the top and once it reached her hips, the rest just flowed down into a ballgown-style poof, supported by layers of tulle underneath.

Lumiere smiled at Sophia's dress as she looked in the mirror. "It looks perfect." He told her honestly with a slight French accent. "Your modzer told me that you were making dze announcement tonight, or radzer dzat your fiancee, Yosuke, was. He's dze other tribute, isn't he?"

Sophia nodded as she was looking over the dress in the mirror. "He is." She said before her eyes began to tear up. "Lumiere, this is so beautiful. Thank you ever so much." Sophia admitted honestly before he wrapped her arms around her in a friendly and reassuring hug. "I don't know if I can ever repay you for your kindness."

Lumiere let her go and handed her a tissue. "Well, you can come out of that arena alive is one dzing." He told her honestly. "Your modzer talked to me and I'm heading to one of your bases to watch and wait for you to make it out." He said softly. "I'll be betting on you."

Sophia wiped at her eyes and sniffled as she got a slight smile. "If I make it out...rather if _we_ make it out, I'd really like for you to design my wedding dress." She told him quietly before blowing her nose.

Lumiere gently rubbed her shoulder and nodded. "I'd love to design all dze dresses you'll need for your wedding if you make it out." He said to her. "I'll start the designs as soon as I leave widz dze team."

"I'd like that a lot." Sophia told him before taking out her engagement ring and looking at it. "I just hope that we make it out of this thing." She said quietly.

"I'm sure you will, Sophia. I doubt that either of you will let the other down." Lumiere told her honestly before guiding her to a chair and beginning to work on her hair. "Now, after I put on your makeup, no more crying." He warned.

Sophia chuckled softly as she blew her nose. "Okay, I promise." She told him honestly and they sat there, talking about wedding dresses and other little things that really didn't seem to matter with such a daunting task looming so near.

Finally, Lumiere finished her make-up and smiled. "Ah, you look most beautiful _ma chère_. Would you like to see yourself?" He questioned her kindly. Sophia nodded gently and Lumiere turned her so that she could look in the giant mirror and she gasped softly.

"Lumiere! I...wow. Just..._wow_." Sophia stated in disbelief. "I'm going to really make an impression on some people. What exactly are we going for?"

Lumiere chuckled a little. "For dze parade, we wanted you and Yosuke to really come out as a team and show yourselves in that way. Now, I want you to show yourself as dze raven, so to speak. Dze dzing we're going for is portraying you as a sharp girl who shouldn't be overlooked just because you're smart...we want dzem to understand that you're just as deadly as you are genius." He explained.

Sophia smiled. "I am at a loss for words. Thank you." She told him kindly.

Lumiere gently kissed the top of her hand. "Now, let's go get you into dze line for dze interview widz dze odzer tributes." He told her, leading her out and to the line of tributes that was waiting eagerly to get on the stage to be called forward individually for a short interview with Lark Obsidian. After Lumiere left her to take his place with the other stylists, the stage lights began to come on and the crowd began to applaud and cheer loudly. The show was about to begin.

* * *

As the tributes began to come onto the stage in a line, they each took a seat on the chairs towards the back of the stage. Towards the front, there was a pair of chairs. Lark Obsidian was already sitting in one of them, displaying his award winning smile. After a short introduction of the program, Lark started calling each of the tributes up and engaging them in conversation.

First was Melissa, the girl from Elysian Academy. She was very confident about her ability to hide in the woods and felt that would really help her. Next came the boy, Ptolemy, and he was much more stoic in his responses. He stated that he was better at hunting and wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. Evani followed shortly after and she was dressed in a light yellow dress, which helped her seem not as intimidating as she originally seemed. She spoke of bringing honor back to her school by winning the Games. Donevon, on the other hand, seemed more distracted and only talked about playing the Games as fairly as possible and doing his best to not die from the beginning. Sophia was next and while talking to Lark, she complimented her stylist's design and also was very kind as she talked about hoping not to have to kill anyone.

Yosuke was next and he was dressed in a suit that was the same dark blue as Sophia's dress. He relaxed in the chair and grinned at Lark and the audience.

"So, tell us all, Yosuke, what was your thought when you heard your name when it was drawn out of the bowl?" Lark questioned Yosuke lightly.

"At first, I was surprised that I was drawn out of everyone else. I was a little thankful because of all the younger students that could have gotten picked over me." Yosuke told Lark honestly.

Lark nodded. "Definitely a brave and noble one to think of others before yourself." He said honestly. "So, with a personality like yours, I'd think that you have a girl waiting at home for you to come back, am I right?" He asked, really asking the last part to the audience who cheered in support.

Yosuke grinned slightly before shaking his head. "Well, I've got a fiancee but she's not waiting on me to get back exactly." He told Lark honestly.

"Oh really?" Lark questioned him. "Distance strain or just had a really bad fight before you left?" He asked. "I'm sure she'll be happy to have you back when this is over with."

"Well, Lark...to be honest..." Yosuke began before sighing. "She kind of came here with me. I guess we were unlucky enough to both be in here fighting for our lives." He told him honestly, hearing a gasp from some in the audience.

Lark looked surprised before looking back towards Sophia and then back to Yosuke. "Well, folks, looks like we've already got a set of star-crossed lovers to be looking out for in the coming days!" He told everyone before looking back at Yosuke. "Believe us when we wish you two all the best as you fight together in the arena." He stated before standing with Yosuke and shaking his hand. "Yosuke Kino, from Ravenclaw House at Hogwarts!" Lark announced loudly.

The interviews continued on down the list. Felicity, the smallest tribute who was from the Appalachian Academy, talked about her hope to return home when the entire ordeal was over. Jerika was dressed in a forest green dress and talked about just wanting to return home to her brother and to see her mother again. Caleb brought much of the audience to tears as he talked about hoping to return to see his daughter born and getting to marry the mother of his child.

Tessa, a tribute from Salem, talked about her hope to make it out so that she could graduate and start doing research on half-breed genetics. Xavier, a tribute from Beauxbatons, wanted to win so that he could return to his family in Bulgaria and just live. Many of the tributes talked about wanting to return home and hopefully to bring some pride back while others just wanted to come out alive.

Emy was next up and she walked the front, dressed in a gorgeous red dress, decorated with red and yellow gemstones, especially at the bottom, which gave the illusion of flames. She sat down gracefully with Lark and gave the crowd a sweet smile.

"Emyrillis Steele, our girl on fire!" Lark stated loudly before smiling at Emy. "So, Emy, you've created quite the stir for everyone when you decided to volunteer for your twin sister. Everyone's just wondering what went through your mind. I know we are." He told her honestly.

Emy smiled softly. "You know, Lark, it's not easy to volunteer. It's a lot harder to see someone you care about get called as a tribute. All I was thinking was '_Not Aly! It can't be her..._' and I couldn't let her go. So I rushed after her and volunteered. I just couldn't imagine her going in there." She told Lark honestly.

Lark nodded. "A most admirable thing to do." He told her. "I'm sure it isn't easy for you and your partner, Jamie...being one of the youngest teams without older members?" He questioned.

"You know, I'm sure a lot of people think that." Emy said before shrugging. "Jamie and I may be one of the youngest teams but that doesn't make us a weak team. We have our strengths so I think we'll be okay." She told Lark with a grin. "Don't count us out just yet, people."

Lark smiled when he heard Emy. "Well, everyone, looks like we've got a pretty confidant team." He said brightly before smiling. "We wish you all the luck in the world." He told her before standing with her. "The girl on fire, Emyrillis Steele!" He announced.

After Emy went to sit down, Lark interviewed Jamie before they ended the show, allowing all the tributes to return to the Training Center with their stylists and mentors.

* * *

In the Australian School of Magic's apartment, their escort Louisa and their mentor Kent were talking to the two tributes, Electra and Mateo. Both were a little bored with the constant talk of strategy for the arena and the dissection of their interviews earlier. Mateo was the most bored as he was staring out the window at the city skyline as everyone talked. He was letting his mind wander when someone suddenly got his attention back.

"Well, Mateo, have you already gotten a plan for the arena?" Kent questioned. "Since you're examining the skyline, we just wondered what you were going to do tomorrow."

Mateo shook his head with a slight grin. "We hardly even know what this arena is going to be like and you're trying to make a game plan?" He asked them. "My plan is to try not to get myself killed, for one. Secondly, I'm going to do mostly the opposite of everything you're saying because some of your ideas are ridiculous."

"It's pointless to sit here and argue about it." Electra pointed out. "Mateo is right. We won't know what to expect until we're in there."

Louisa looked at the two tributes. "It's not that we're worried about your plan of what your strategy is. I'm more worried about what, er, _connections_ that you're going in with." She clarified.

"Connections?" Mateo asked, narrowing his eyes. "What kind of connections do you mean?"

Kent folded his arms. "The Steele girl. You talk about her sister often. We're worried that you'll buddy up with her and then you'll find yourself in quite the mess." He told Mateo.

Electra looked at Mateo. "You know Steele?" She asked him.

Mateo shook his head. "I don't know Emy Steele directly. I just used to know her sister. We were...friends." He told Electra honestly before frowning. "But Emy is not her sister. Plus, this is not the kind of place for sentiment to creep into my decisions. Yes, if it was her sister Aly, I'd say that it would cause problems...but she isn't." Mateo said honestly. "She won't be a problem for me."

"Alright. Since that is settled, you two probably need to be heading to bed. Tomorrow will begin the first of several long days ahead." Louisa told them, cutting off Kent who was about to speak. "Kent and I have other matters to discuss."

The two proceeded to leave but Electra stopped Mateo. Mateo seemed a little surprised but paused as Electra blocked his path to his room.

"You know, Mateo, I don't imagine that I'll ever understand you." Electra began, looking him in the eye. "Do you really intend to kill that Steele girl, Emy?" She questioned him.

Mateo sighed as he looked at Electra. "What I said downstairs was that I didn't mean to help her during this tournament. I never said that I'd kill her." He told her before looking away, towards a window at the end of the hall. "Aly, Emy's sister, and I go back to when we were kids in muggle school. I wouldn't kill her sister out of cold blood. If it comes down to just me and her, maybe. But to do it straight off the bat...nah. I couldn't do it." He admitted to her. "Now, can I go to bed?"

Electra nodded, moving out of his way. After Mateo closed the door, she entered her own room and lay down, staring at her ceiling for a while. She felt uneasy with Mateo, like he wasn't all there. She bit her lip because at that point, she was a little more scared of her fellow tribute than any of the others. If she survived the blood-bath, she didn't intend to be around him. It seemed like a better strategy because she was there to win, not to make any friends. As sleep began to creep up on her, she rolled onto her side and closed her eyes. Tomorrow would not be easy...not for anyone.

* * *

_**Author's Note : **Wow, seems like forever since I last had time to write and get new chapters up. Sorry about the wait! College has been hectic but after this week, there will only be a couple more weeks til Christmas Break so hopefully there will be more up around then. I'm working diligently on the next chapter for Losing Your Memory so expect more updates soon!_


	8. And There's Silence

_********__(Warning : From this chapter on, there will be intense moments of violence.)_

**Chapter 8 : And There's Silence**

_Day One of the Games_

* * *

Emy was brushing her hair. She had contemplated putting it up but when she did, it just didn't seem to look right. She heard a knock at the door and sighed. "Come in." She said.

Marcus stepped in to see Emy still brushing her hair. "I came to get you and take you out to the airship that's going to take you to the arena." He told her.

Emy turned and looked at him before placing the hairbrush down. "Oh...alright." Emy said before sighing and looking around the room. "Guess this is the last of civilized society that I'll be seeing for a while." She said and turned back to Marcus. "Any news yet?" She asked.

Marcus looked back at her. "Well, your mother wanted me to relay to you that Aly is getting closer to having her baby. She said that she'll probably have her while you lot are in the arena. I'll do my best to get you news." He told Emy quietly. Marcus looked her in the eyes. "I'd give anything to keep you from having to do this. You know that, right?" He asked her.

Emy gave Marcus a small smile. "That's good. I'll be sure to tell Caleb if I get it and see him." She told him, trying to keep her fear and anxiety from getting the best of her. "I know but I'll be alright. Don't worry too much about it. Just keep a level head and don't forget about me." Emy told him, giving him a small hug. "Thank you for being here."

Marcus hugged her back before letting go of her. "It's the least I can do. I'll see you when you get out." He told her. He then nodded. "Don't worry. I won't take my eyes off you for a moment unless I'm signing a sponsorship for you." He said honestly. "Now, come on. Let's get you to that airship." He said to her, walking with her out the door.

Emy looked at Marcus. "And make sure that you take care of Jamie too. He needs help a little more than I do anyways." She told him honestly.

Marcus nodded. "I'll take care of both of you, alright?" He said to Emy, giving her a small forced smile. "Just...be careful." He said and walked her closer to the aircraft. "Good luck." He said, watching her go to climb the ladder. He began walking back towards the building. Marcus had a lot of things on his mind and Emy's safety had definitely just became priority number one. He was going to hurry to the Mentor room to meet up with Mason.

* * *

After the tributes had gotten onto the aircraft, a woman was going to all the tributes and putting a tracker into their arms, to keep track of their vitals while they were in the arena. She got to Evani and inserted hers, earning a hiss of pain from the girl. Evani watched as some of the others were getting their trackers put in. She watched the reactions of the others to gauge who the weaker opponents were.

It was pretty quiet on the aircraft because everyone was realizing that this was the real thing. They were going into the arena that day and they would be forced to fight one another until there was only one left. That realization really killed any conversations on the trip to the Launch Center. Each tribute would meet with their stylist in their Launch Room who would help them get dressed for the games before having them get onto the Launch Plate, which would lift them up through the tube and into the arena.

Evani took a calming breath as she tried to relax some. She didn't need all this stress and tension before going into the arena. She looked over and saw Donevon opposite to her with his eyes closed. Evani knew that he was getting his concentration together as they approached the arena. She leaned back in her seat a bit and took another deep breath.

Soon enough, the aircraft finally came to a slow stop and the tributes were all gotten from their chairs by an Auror for each. The Auror lead them to their Launch Room. Evani was glad that hers was so close to the entrance of the Launch Center. She entered and saw Ninian over by the clothes she was going to wear.

"Well, guess this is it, huh?" Evani asked Ninian as she was looking over the clothes. "At least they aren't red, I suppose." She said to her.

Ninian nodded. "I didn't have much choice in them. The Gamekeepers decide what you wear, unfortunately." She told Evani unfolding some of then. "So, might as well get you changed into them." She told her.

Evani started changing into the clothes. She pulled on the dark brown cargo pants, noting the amount of pockets they had and that they fit very well. Evani also put on a belt that came with it, which was very sturdy. She then pulled the olive green shirt on. She quickly put the boots on, tucking the bottoms of her pants into them before tying them up.

Ninian was holding Evani's jacket, which was black with dark red strips on it. She helped Evani put it on and gave her a very small smile. "There. Doesn't look all that bad. Want me to do your hair once more?" She asked her.

Evani nodded. "Yeah, that would be nice. Can you do it into that braid that it was in the day that I came?" She asked Ninian quietly.

Ninian smiled a bit more. "I'd be happy to." She said and quickly began to braid Evani's hair in a simple, yet elegant, side braid. Ninian made sure that it was right before she finished. "You be sure to watch yourself in there, alright? Be careful and if you need to run, just run." She told her honestly and tied off the braid before turning Evani around and looking at her. "I have faith in you." She told her, her face more serious.

Evani nodded. "Thank you, Ninian." She said, getting a small smile before hugging the woman. "You be careful too." She told her and pulled back, taking in some of the last mental pictures she could of the woman who had really taken care of her since she got there. Ninian's hair was a light shade of turquoise and her eyes were a stunning shade of violet. She was pretty pale but her kindness was unmatched.

Ninian smiled at Evani. "Come on, you better go get on that plate. Remember, when you get to the top, don't move an inch. There's mines all around the plate platforms and if you move wrong, it'll explode." She told her.

"I know." Evani said as she got closer to the tube where the plate was.

Ninian stopped Evani before putting a necklace around the girl's neck. It was Evani's token that had a Durmstrang crest on it. "Don't forget your token. Keep it close and don't forget what you're fighting for." Ninian reminded her before letting the girl go to the Launch Plate.

Evani stepped onto the plate and listened to the countdown for the Launch Plate to begin rising. She hid the necklace under her shirt and stood on the plate, getting her mind together and her confidence. This was not going to be an easy task in the days to come. Finally, her Launch Plate began to rise.

* * *

Sophia was almost blinded by the light when her Launch Plate finally lifted her into the arena where she could see. She blocked some of the light with her hand until her eyes adjusted. She was staring at the Cornucopia and saw several weapons that she could use. Her eyes then caught sight of a silver bow that looked exactly like the one she had in the private session. Her mind resolved to get that along with some of the supplies near that.

Sophia looked over to Yosuke and she saw him look at an ax and a backpack, likely full of supplies. He looked back over at Sophia and she nodded. She looked around and saw the countdown was nearing 10. She began to ready herself and get into a good position to run. At the count of 10, her adrenaline began pumping. Was this really it? Was she going to kill a bunch of people for the tools to survive? People she'd trained with? At 8, her emotions began to fold back and she felt a survival need start to come up as her adrenaline began to change how she was thinking as her eyes were zeroed in on that bow. At 6, she was ready to do whatever it took to keep herself and Yosuke safe through this while part of her consciousness remained keeping a tab of who not to kill when she was up there.

"5...4...3...2...1..." The countdown finished as a loud cannon fire sounded.

Sophia started running as fast as she could, hurrying towards the Cornucopia and the silver bow. She had to quickly dodge some of the weapons people were throwing at one another before she reached the bow. She found a large hunting knife as well as the quiver. She put the quiver on her back and she had the knife in her right hand, ready to use as she put the bow on her back as well. She began to get out one of the supply crates when the female tribute from Cherry Blossom Institute, Dawn, came after her with a spear.

Sophia looked at Dawn and knew the girl was out to kill her by the look in her eyes. She quickly took the spear from Dawn and used it to shove into the other girl's abdomen, effectively disabling her. She then quickly grabbed the crate and starting running towards the woods when male tribute, Nils, began after her, carrying an armful of throwing knifes. Sophia noticed him and quickly put the crate down, retrieving her knife from her belt. However, Nils threw a knife that grazed her forehead, causing a cut.

Sophia touched her forehead with her free hand before going at Nils, her own knife in hand. She quickly began to try and fight him off. Nils dropped his knives except one and the two began to struggle. Nils was smaller than her but he was also pretty strong for a 14-year-old. He managed to cut her in the arm before Sophia got the upper hand back. She quickly pinned him down and effectively stabbed him in the neck. She pulled her knife back when she had made sure that he was dead before she picked her crate back up and continued to run towards where Yosuke had disappeared.

Sophia ran into the woods and followed the slight path that Yo left and finally, she spotted him quickly. She ran over to him and whistled so that he knew it was her. He then moved his head towards a heavy cover of a large pine and vines. They made it under the tree and Sophia sat the crate down.

"You're hurt." Yosuke said, noticing the cut on her forehead and arm. "You shouldn't have stayed back there." He told her.

Sophia shook her head. "I'm fine. The two tributes from the CBI aren't though. They attacked me but they're not bad cuts." She told Yosuke honestly before pulling the lid off the crate. "Good, we've got some ointment and some fruit in here." She told him as she tossed him an apple and took out the ointment and put it on her cuts.

"So, you killed both of them, then?" Yosuke asked her. "Was it as bad as you thought?"

Sophia sighed and shook her head. "Well, when you're trying to survive and someone tries to kill you, I suppose you don't get too picky about who you kill or how you do it." She told him. "I was more worried about getting back to you alive than how my conscious would agree with me about killing those two."

Yosuke nodded. "Well, looks like this might be the best place to rest for a while. You can't really see into this part too well so we'll be safe here til morning, I imagine. There wouldn't happen to be water in there, would there?" He asked her.

Sophia looked into the crate. "There's some, yeah. A few bottles worth but by tomorrow, we'll need to head towards a river or something so that we can have a nice supply of it." She told him, handing him a bottle out of it. "You can live a few days without food but not too long without water." She pointed out. "But right now, I'm more worried about the others. I didn't see them at the Cornucopia so I hope that they know what they're doing." She told him.

"I'm sure they do." Yosuke told her. "They're all pretty smart and I'm sure a few of them teamed up to keep safety in numbers."

"I hope you're right." Sophia told him, taking off the bow and quiver before resting her back against the tree. "I really hope."

* * *

Emy was running back into the woods with Caleb. She had managed to get some weapons for them and a large camouflage backpack that held plenty of useful supplies without getting injured. Caleb now had a sword while Emy carried a nice ax. They were walking along one of the paths and Emy was guiding him towards running water. "Look, if we head towards the sound, we'll be one step ahead because we'll be near some running water. Besides that, if we're going to find the others, that's where they'll head." She told him honestly.

Caleb nodded as they began to trek off the path. "I just hope we don't meet up with one of those crazies. Like that bloke from Salem. I'm pretty sure that he'd rip the head off of the first blighter that came across his path." He told Emy honestly. They heard a rustling nearby and they got ready but then they noticed it was just Melissa, from the Elysian Academy and she appeared to be very upset. "Merlin, what's got your knickers all twisted up in this crazy place?" He questioned her.

Melissa looked at Caleb before looking at Emy. "Please, I need help. My fellow tribute, Ptolemy, got attacked by that girl from Beauxbatons and he's hurt pretty badly. I can't heal him on my own." She pleaded with Emy. "I beg you."

Emy looked at Melissa before recognizing her from one of the big family gatherings in Bulgaria before nodding. "Alright, I'll help you, Melissa." Emy agreed. "Where is he?" She questioned.

"Follow me." Melissa told her before starting back down the hill. Emy and Caleb quickly followed and under a tree, near the stream, the found Ptolemy with quite the wound around his stomach. "Here. Ptolemy, I found you help." She said, going to the other side of the tribute and taking his hand, reassuringly. "They're going to try to help you."

Emy quickly began to look at the wound and at Ptolemy's color in his face. She then looked back at the wound and sighed. "Melissa, this is a really bad wound. You have to understand that he may not make it. He has lost a lot of blood and I don't think I have what I need." She told Melissa honestly before looking at Ptolemy.

Ptolemy looked at Melissa. "She's right, Melissa. I have lost a lot of blood. I've been feeling cold for a while." He told her honestly, holding her hand. "You need to keep going. You have a better chance with them than here." He told her, kissing her hand gently. "I need you to keep going."

Melissa shook her head. "No, there has to be something. There has to be." She said, looking at Emy. "Can't you do something? Please tell me that you can."

Emy looked at Melissa and then at Caleb. "Alright, just promise to stay with us after this, okay?" She suggested. "We can be of some good help to you." She assured them.

Melissa agreed. "Anything. Just save Ptolemy. Help him." She said as Ptolemy also nodded in agreement.

Emy quickly changed into her phoenix form. She, like her sister, was blessed with the power to become a phoenix and have everything that came with that, including an immortal life and healing tears. She then shed some tears over his wounds and they began to heal. She continued to shed more tears and the wound healed all the way up. She then shifted back to admire the work. "There, it should be healed enough." She said, looking up to see Ptolemy's face beginning to get color again.

Melissa smiled at Emy. "Thank you so much, girl on fire." She thanked her, using her nickname that the games had given her.

Ptolemy started to sit up and gave Emy and Caleb a nod. "Thank you so much." He thanked them. "I feel a lot better."

Emy nodded. "You're welcome. And you can call me Emy. This is Caleb." She introduced before smiling. "Guess we've got ourselves a pretty solid alliance, huh?" She said.

"Yes. We'll travel with you because I'm almost positive that the girl is still out there." Melissa told Emy. "But I suppose that we'll find out that tonight when they show all the casualties from the day."

Caleb nodded. "Yeah, we'll see it. But for now, let's get better shelter. This area is a little out in the open." He pointed out and the others looked at him. "I'm sure there's some kind of willow or cave closer to the river. It'd be better for us to get someplace where one of those nutters aren't just going to come waltzing along and chop our heads off."

"I agree. Let's go find some better shelter. Are you alright to walk, Ptolemy?" Emy questioned as she stood.

"Yeah, it's just a little tender now." Ptolemy assured her as he stood and picked up his sword. "Let's get out of here."

Emy nodded as her eyes quickly surveyed the area. "There's an overhang over that way. It isn't a cave but there's enough clearing there that we'll be able to see who didn't make it today when evening comes and there's some vines that block the view inside. Plus, it's by the river." Emy observed.

The newly formed group quickly made their way to the overhang so that they'd have some cover by the time night came. They quickly set out their things and got some water from the river as they settled into their new alliance. Little did anyone know that there was a true double-crosser in the arena.

* * *

_**Author's Note : **Whew! This chapter was pretty intense but look for a continuing Chapter 8x coming out soon. I couldn't really put everything into this chapter to save length. I hope you all enjoyed it and don't forget to review!_


	9. Would You Kill?

_**Chapter 8x : Would You Kill?**_

* * *

Evani had finally managed to get far enough away from the Cornucopia that she felt safe. Her fellow tribute, Donevon had gotten killed in the blood bath trying to protect her. Evani knew that in normal circumstances she would feel more upset that he had died but she had received a good sized gash in her leg and running on that seemed to last forever. She had run into the overgrown field and gotten to the far side, between the treeline and the lake. Evani quickly sat down at the edge of the water and pulled her pants leg up after untying her boots. She looked to see a pretty nasty gash.

"Well, isn't that just bleeding lovely." Evani sneered as she moved the large duffel bag that she'd gotten from the Cornucopia closer and began inspecting the contents. She then pulled out some gauze, wrap, and some healing ointment. She also found a stitching kit and some numbing ointment. "Oh, this is going to be a joy." She muttered, looking at the injury.

Evani spent a few minutes stitching the wound and wrapping it before she heard a twig snap behind herself. She quickly, one of her throwing axes in hand, poised to attack whomever it was. She then glimpsed Preston, from the Washington State school. She eyed him a moment. "What do you want, District 4?" She growled at him. She didn't like being caught in a fragile state and she couldn't be sure if the female tribute wasn't behind her, ready to catch her off guard.

Preston held his hands up, his spear still in hand. "Easy, District 2. I'm just looking for someone to make an alliance with and since you're the first one that I've found, looks like it might be your lucky day." He suggested and saw the bandages. "I can help you with that." He offered.

Evani shook her head. "No use. I've probably butchered it plenty." Evani replied before looking him over. "Give me one good reason why I should trust you." She questioned him warily.

"Well, I was behind a bush, watching you for about 15 minutes and didn't kill you. I'd think that would be a good enough reason?" Preston suggested. When he saw Evani nod in agreement, he moved closer. "So, can you move far on that leg?" He asked her, kneeling down.

"Probably for a while, I'd say, but I'm not sure how far I can go." Evani told him, covering the bandages back with her pants leg. "I'm just more worried about what's in this place than really how far I can go."

Preston shrugged as he looked around. "I'm not too sure. I know that Mateo and a few other tributes are all kind of hanging around. Bianca is over there." He told her, referring to his partner tribute.

"That's odd. I thought of you as a guy that would stick by his partner until one of you died." Evani told him honestly as she moved to get up. "What happened? Disagreement of morals?"

Preston moved to help her get up, a help that Evani gladly accepted. "You can say that. I didn't volunteer but I also don't intend to be used as an assassin either." He told her, making sure that she was able to stand on her own. "I want to make it out but I guess that I have this belief that there's always more than just one obvious way out of a situation."

"That's a noble belief, I suppose." Evani responded as she moved to pick up her duffel bag but Preston had already put it over his shoulder. "So, what? Did you only grab that spear?" She asked him.

"Yeah, pretty much. I managed to snag a bag of my own." Preston told her, turning around so that she could see the hiking backpack he had. "It has some food but I imagine that we need to move closer to a stream or river where there's clean water and hopefully some wildlife to take down."

Evani nodded as the pair began to walk into the woods. "So, what? We're allies now?" She asked him after they'd walked a little ways.

"Yeah." Preston said and looked at her. "It's a good deal for both of us. You're injured and can't move too fast and I'm fairly strong and can carry you if need be."

"But why are you doing this? I mean, we don't even know each other by names...just where we come from." Evani pointed out. "You could just walk away and let me fend for myself."

Preston sighed. "Look, I don't want these Games to change me like they did Bianca. She used to be a really nice girl and all she can think about is taking out anyone that gets in her way. I just want to be myself still so this is me doing what I do best. Helping people." He admitted to Evani. He looked at her. "My name's Preston. I'm from District 4...or Washington State School of Magic. I'm 17." He stated before looking away and forward as they walked on.

"Alright. I can respect that, Preston." Evani said, nodding. "I'm Evani and I'm from District 2...or Durmstrang Institute. I'm 16."

"Well, Evani, it's nice to meet you. Guess we'll be working together for quite a while." Preston told her, giving her a small smile before he stopped at the edge of a steep hill. He looked at Evani before looking back down the hill. "I'm not sure if it's a good idea for you to walk down this hill. Do you want me to carry you?" Preston offered.

Evani looked downhill before shaking her head. "Nah. I'll walk on my own. The worst that could happen is I'll go rolling but then it'd be better for you so that you can hurry down and not be unarmed." She told him as she started to move down the hill. Her face contorted as a pain shot up her leg. Apparently, the numbing potion had worn off while they were walking. Evani gritted her teeth as she leaned against the tree she was beside.

"Are you sure that you're alright?" Preston asked her. "Look, it's no big deal for me to come help you. Besides, you're going to pop your stitches if you're aren't careful." He added.

Evani looked at Preston before shaking her head, pulling herself together enough to shove the pain out of her mind. "No, I'm fine. You just start coming down and we'll be done faster." She told him as she continued to try to go down the hill, finding the pain to become almost unbearable. As she neared the bottom, she nearly fell into a tree, trying to get support. The pain was causing her to sweat a good deal and she was getting shakier.

"Alright, sweetheart." Preston told Evani as he got down to where she was. "You're in no condition to keep walking. Here, let me carry you." He said, trying to persuade her to let him help. "We need to get you somewhere to rest and make sure you haven't popped your stitches out."

"No, I'm fine, Preston. Once we get on flatter ground, I'll be fine and we can keep going. We're not even near water so I would rather not stop yet." Evani told him as she pulled herself up using the tree. "Trust me. I'll be fine. And besides, the stitches will be fine. I'm not even worried about that."

"Alright, have it your way." Preston told her as he started off ahead of her. "Just be careful, alright?"

Evani hurried down to the bottom she was in intense pain. She started walking over to Preston and the pain lessened but only so much. "Let's just hope we're near water." She said to him.

The two traveled on a ways before they found a spring. Evani painfully walked over to the spring, which was shielded by a rocky cliff-style wall and immense willow trees. It was astounding that she was even able to see the spring for all the foliage. She sighed in relief before limping herself over to the wall and quickly sitting down, taking her hands and cupping them before getting water out of the spring and drinking it. "Merlin himself couldn't have been more happy with a spring like this." She told Preston honestly.

Preston nodded, walking over and sitting on the side of her good leg. "No doubt. So, now that we're here, looks like we'll be safe a while, don't you think?" He asked her.

Evani shrugged. "It's hard to tell how long we'll be safe here. For all we know, the Gamemakers could be unhappy that we're all separated and they'll probably bring us all back together sooner or later. For tonight, however, we'll be safe enough. We'll take turns watching for any of these blood-thirsty tributes so that we can both get some sleep." She told Preston.

"That sounds good. You should probably go ahead and get a nap in. You look like you need it." Preston told her, laying her bag beside her.

"Yeah, that would probably be a good idea." Evani agreed before settling down and resting her head on the bag. "Wake me up soon. I don't want to sleep too long." She told him seriously.

Preston nodded. "I will. Just get some rest, alright?"

"Okay." Evani said before falling into an uneasy sleep. The pain in her leg made sleeping hard but sleeping on the ground wasn't so bad. The dreams though...that was the real kicker.

* * *

Jerika and Jamie were two tributes that seemed most likely, yet the most likely, to team up. They were they youngest tributes but they were also from rival houses, as Jerika was a Slytherin and Jamie was a Gryffindor. However, the two shared more of a common bond of age and experience so they ended up pairing together. They had run from the Cornucopia but Jamie, being his father's stubborn son, wanted to see if there was a chance for some items. He didn't want to endanger Jerika but he couldn't just leave her alone.

"It doesn't look like anyone's really around anymore. We've walked the entire perimeter and I think that everyone's gone off to hide." Jamie told Jerika before looking close to the Cornucopia. "I'm going to go in there and start looking for things. You can stay here and keep watch. If you see anyone, just whistle." He told her.

"Are you sure that you should be going over there? I mean...what if one of those bigger tributes comes back?" Jerika asked him. She was nervous about being left alone but she also didn't think it was good for him to be over there by himself. "Is it really necessary?"

"Well, yeah. We need weapons to defend ourselves and if we don't get any supplies, we're going to either dehydrate or starve to death." Jamie told her before looking Jerika over. "And, no offense, but between the two of us, neither of us has enough body mass to survive for several days without anything. Now, is there anything particular you want me to get you?" Jamie asked her, as he was keeping his eyes and ears open and watching the area.

"Daggers would be nice. Some throwing knives too, if there still is any." Jerika told Jamie before looking at him. "Are you sure that you don't want me to come with you? C-cause I will."

Jamie looked at Jerika. "Yeah, you should probably come along. That way, they don't sneak up on you from behind over here. It'll be easier for us to run together than to run separately." He told her before he started to walk quickly towards the Cornucopia.

Jerika followed him closely and they were soon in the midst of the carnage from earlier. She had expected that it would be bloody but nothing prepared her for what they walked into. As they walked around the different crates, they passed some of the bodies of the fallen tributes who had yet to be carried out of the arena. It wasn't a pretty sight for anyone to be seeing but Jerika took a moment to collect herself and followed Jamie. The pair began to dig through some of the remaining items.

Jamie finally found a pretty decent spear. "Hmm, this isn't half bad. Any luck yet, Jerika?" He asked her as he examined the weapon in his hands.

"Yeah, I found a dagger and several throwing knives." Jerika responded before picking up another dagger. "We'd better find a supply bag and get out of here. I'm starting to get an uneasy feeling about staying here too long." She told him, getting the throwing knives in her pocket and one of the daggers on her belt.

Jamie nodded before turning and grabbing a large duffel bag that had not been previously plundered. "This should do. You should grab yourself one of those smaller bags near you and we'll get out of here." He told her.

"Good idea. Let's hurry." Jerika told Jamie as she picked up a backpack and the two started to head for the woods where they had come out at. Then, they heard the snap of a branch from the far side of the field.

Jamie jerked his head around to see Electra, the female tribute from Australia. He stared at her for a moment before nudging Jerika. "Run!" He told her quickly and the two bolted into the woods, hoping to get away from the woman.

Jerika and Jamie ran through the woods with Electra not far behind. Jamie saw that Electra was starting to catch up and he fell behind Jerika a little, shifting the spear to his dominant hand. He saw that Electra had a dagger, after seeing some sunlight shine on the blade, so he knew he'd have a distance advantage. He just hoped that they could keep running.

"She's catching up. What do we do?" Jerika asked, a tinge of panic in her voice. "Jamie, what are we going to do?" She asked, glancing back at him.

"Don't worry about it, Jerika. Just don't worry and keep running." Jamie told her. He frowned as he tightened his grip on the spear. "We'll be fine."

"I hope so, Jamie. I really hope so." Jerika said as they continued to run, heading along the trail to hopefully find a place to branch off. She glanced back at Jamie. "I don't think we're going to outrun her." She warned him.

"I know." Jamie said clenching his teeth. He then quickly turned and dug the spear into Electra's abdomen. He had obviously surprised the older girl, who slumped over. "Don't look over here, Jerika." He warned her before pulling the spear from Electra's body. Jamie knelt down beside her as he knew that she didn't have long to live after that injury.

"I was trying to save you." Electra warned as she gritted her teeth in pain. "Bianca and the others were going to attack you if I hadn't chased you off. You should be thankful that I even ran you off." She hissed at him.

"Yeah...a likely story." Jamie told her before standing up. "The way I see it, you were chasing after us and trying to kill us. Don't try to fool me. You'll be dead in a few moments anyways." He told her simply.

Electra lay there, as in thought for a short moment. "Fine, if you don't want to believe me then I may as well warn you. Whatever happens, don't trust Mateo." She told him as she tried to breathe through her pain. "Stay far away. Trust only yourselves. He was supposed to help me but I guess I'm going to die in this forsaken place. Watch yourself." She said as her breathing became much slower and more labored. "All I was trying to do was keep you two from getting killed. Please...go out and...try to win this..." Electra pleaded softly with him.

Jamie nodded before seeing Electra finally take her last breath. He took her daggers and supply bag before running to Jerika. "Come on, let's get going." He told her with a hollow tone.

The two were soon jogging quickly away. Finally, the two headed down the hill and reached an area that was thick with brush. They entered the brush area and came to the river at a clear spot that was hidden by the thick brush all around it. Jamie tossed his bag down as well as well as the backpack he'd gotten from Electra before sitting down by the water's edge.

Jerika followed him closely and saw him sit down before sitting beside him. "Is there something wrong? You haven't spoken a word since we left that girl behind in the woods..." She questioned him as she took out a water bottle from her supply pack and began filling it with water before putting some iodine drops in it and taking a drink.

"I suppose so. I mean...I just killed another person but I guess that isn't a big deal." Jamie said to her, staring at the water.

"You know that I didn't mean it like that. Jamie, she was trying to chase us and kill us. If you hadn't have killed her first, we would've died." Jerika told him honestly. "Did she say something to you? I wouldn't believe anything that she said. She wanted you dead."

Jamie sighed before shaking his head. "I'm starting to think that everything in these games isn't as cut and dry as we seem to think." He told Jerika quietly. "Electra was trying to warn us. She said that she was running us off to save us from being ambushed. I doubt that she'd leave a group if she didn't have good intentions."

"I don't know. She could have been just trying to mess with your head and make you feel guilty about everything." Jerika suggested to Jamie. "Look, we shouldn't waste time being worried about the fallen. It just puts us a little closer to being able to go home."

"Is that all you're worried about? Going home?" Jamie asked her, looking at Jerika. His face showed his regret of the quick decision and that he was really bothered. "I don't know about you, Astrid, but I want to keep some of my humanity at the end of this. The only reason that I killed her is because I thought that she was trying to kill us. Now...I'm not so sure." He told her honestly. "I may have killed an innocent person for all we know. So, yeah, that bothers me. I don't want to be a piece in these games. I'm more than that and I'm going to show them that they don't own me. If I die...I wanna still be me. Not some mindless monster."

Jerika looked at Jamie for a bit and she was a little take aback. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "I guess I can't afford to think like that right now. I'd rather believe the worst in these people than the best." She told him honestly.

Jamie nodded before getting up. "I'm going to go rest. It's starting to get closer to sundown. We might as well settle down and get some rest. No campfire, though. It'll draw attention. We'll just settle down in our sleeping bags." He told her, getting his bag out of his large duffel bag. He unrolled the sleeping bag before unzipping it and getting in to rest.

Jerika began to get out her sleeping bag as she thought about what Jamie said. Maybe he was right about trying to keep some of their humanity. Then again...these were the Survival Game. She knew there would be more challenges ahead and they needed to be ready. She climbed into the bag and stared at the slowly reddening sky as the sun was setting. Jerika sighed softly. If she was braver, she'd go off on her own but she knew that she needed to stay with Jamie. It would be better that way.

* * *

**_Author's Note : _**_I hope that everyone enjoyed this continuation of Chapter 8. I didn't want to put everything together in one solid chapter because of length. I'm considering using the next chapter to show a lot of the mentors and how they're working behind the scenes to take care of the tributes. I also want to say 'Thanks!' for all the recent story follows. I'm so glad that people are enjoying this story! Remember to read and review!_


	10. Through The Glass

_**Chapter 9 : Through the Glass**_

* * *

Felix Astrid was sitting in the Mentor room after a long morning of accepting sponsorships for Jerika and Caleb. He was watching the video feeds of each tribute. He saw Jerika hiding out with Jamie and nodded. Felix knew that those two would probably end up pairing up together. He then saw Caleb and Emy working together with the two tributes from the Elysian Academy. Felix didn't remember who they were but he had asked around and found them out to be Melissa and Ptolemy.

Felix sighed as he looked at the funds on the hologram display at the desk and looked at the list of gifts that could send. He knew that the gifts would get more expensive the longer the games continued. However, due to their strategy, he didn't know if they really needed anything with all the supplies that both pairs had procured. Any gift he sent needed to wait until they needed it. He moved his hand over the hologram and it changed to a map of the arena and he saw that all the groups were relatively far apart.

"Well, I guess I was wrong about my initial analysis of the other tributes." A voice spoke behind Felix.

Felix turned and saw Finnick Odair, the escort that was assigned to help him. "And apparently, I was wrong about thinking that only mentors were supposed to be in this room." Felix replied dryly as he stared at the map. "So what are you doing in here, Finnick?"

"Haha, very funny." Finnick replied before sitting across from Felix. "I'm helping you. I may be the 'escort' but I'm also a good mentor. I've done it plenty of times before." He informed Felix, opening the map and information on his own side.

"So you've mentored for these games before? Why didn't you say anything? I feel like a bleeding idiot because I haven't the slightest clue what to do here." Felix said to Finnick, looking at the man in disbelief.

Finnick sighed before looking at Felix. "I come from Panem, where these games started. I didn't want you to think I was in on any of this. I didn't have a choice but to get involved because I wanted to help someone." He told him honestly as he looked back at the hologram. "I was once a victor in the games but it isn't easy. It never gets easier when it's over either."

"Oh, I see." Felix replied, feeling a little embarrassed by how he acted towards Finnick. "I didn't know that you had lived through these monstrosities."

Finnick shrugged. "Eh, don't be sorry, Felix. I don't exactly advertise it to everyone." He told him. "Let's just focus on the task at hand with the kids, okay?" He suggested to him.

"Right." Felix agreed, nodding as he brought up the vitals on Jerika and Caleb. "Looks like they're doing fine right now." He said, looking at the live feed as well. "All the groups are so far apart that it's almost ridiculous."

"Well, that probably won't last for too long. The Gamemakers will drive them all together soon enough." Finnick replied as he was looking at the map. "It's only a matter of time. They'll either come together on their own or they'll be forced together. I'm just amazed at how many of them are in these large groups." He commented, looking at the map as a whole.

"I'd say it's for more safety. Most the crazy blood-thirsty ones died early on for the most part." Felix reminded him before shaking his head. "Witches and wizards naturally stay together. It's how we've survived so long."

"See, usually the blood-thirsty ones make alliances. The more reserved ones don't trust anyone so they go on their own. Your groups don't make much sense." Finnick analyzed.

Felix shrugged in response. "I guess that we're just different." He replied as he went over some more of the data. "Night one and there's already been 5 killed. That leaves about 19 in the arena and we've already seen where 10 of them have made their groups."

"Not to mention there's the four in the Career pack." Finnick pointed out. "That leaves 5 tributes that we haven't seen yet or have any idea about."

"I don't worry so much about the group of four. I'm more worried about the 5 that are unaccounted for." Felix told Finnick honestly as he looked at the two live video feeds. "This is definitely unsettling."

* * *

Ines was in her own mentor room and she sat, watching the screen. She watched Yosuke and Sophia sleeping under the tree they'd found and she sighed softly, rubbing her tired eyes. Thankfully, the pair had earned plenty of sponsors apiece so she'd be able to send them something when they needed it. As some of the others were, Ines worried about the different tributes from the other schools that were in hiding. She couldn't imagine sleeping because she was so worried.

Eliza walked into the room after knocking and was carrying an extra cup of coffee before handing it to Ines. "I saw the light on so I figured you might need a pick-me-up. Are you going to try to stay awake the entire length of the games?" She asked her curiously. "I mean...these games last days..."

Ines listened to Eliza as she drank from her coffee cup. She sighed softly. "Thanks for the coffee, Eliza. But, unfortunately, I don't think that you can understand the reason why I am staying up so far." She told Eliza quietly.

"It's because of Sophia, isn't it?" Eliza asked Ines.

"Well, yes..." Ines began before biting her lip. "It's also Yosuke. He and Sophia are supposed to get married over the summer. So they're both family to me. I'm worried that something will happen to one or both of them. I mean...there's so much in that arena that is instinct and I just...I don't know if they'll both make it out safely." Ines admitted to Eliza, taking another drink of the coffee.

Eliza sat across from Ines and looked at her. "I'd understand more than you'd think." She told Ines softly before looking down at the map. "When I was a lot younger, and I lived in Panem, my best friend got chosen as tribute. And, in District 7, it wasn't common for people to volunteer and if you did, it was more than likely a member of your family that went." She pointed out to her.

Ines looked at Eliza for the longest time, her eyes searching Eliza's face. "Eliza, why are you telling me this?" She asked the woman softly. They had hardly known each other over the past week and now Eliza was talking to her like a long-lost friend.

"Because Sophia reminds me of my friend, Katerina." Eliza admitted to Ines. "Her entire demeanor and her preference of her smarts to her strength. Katerina was never a fighter but she lasted for days in that arena...she even won." She told her before shaking her head. "When the entire Second Rebellion happened about 18 years ago, she was killed for being a victor because she might have had important information. And...I miss her everyday."

Ines looked at Eliza for an extended period of time afterward and nodded. "I see. I think I understand now." Ines replied and then looked at her curiously. "Eliza, how many of the other escorts are from Panem and know how this all works?"

"Well, about all of them except the few from this world." Eliza replied after thinking a moment. "There are a couple escorts that were victors but only a spare couple since most of the victors were killed."

"You know...I think we need to get everyone together and chat." Ines suggested to Eliza. "If they want to try to kill everyone, we're going to have to prove that we're a little more crafty at this game than they are."

Eliza grinned a bit. "You're right, Ines." She said before getting up. "I'll try to find as many mentors and escorts as I can. We could all meet in your tribute's apartment." She stated before nodding. "I've got to hurry. When should we meet?"

"Tonight at about 3 am." Ines told her simply. "I'm sure our tributes should be safe for a couple hours while all of us chat." She added.

"Okay, I'm going now." Eliza stated before rushing out of the room.

Ines looked at the video feed and smiled a little, seeing Yosuke and Sophia still sleeping. "Please, stay safe." She said softly, kissing her fingers before touching the hologram. "Stay strong and don't give up." She whispered, her eyes tearing up a little. "I love you both so very much."

* * *

_**Author's Note : **I decided to write a shorter chapter for this bit to let everyone know how the mentors are at that moment and to take a break from the tributes. Sorry that it's shorter. To all the readers, do you enjoy the shorter chapters? I'm thinking about making some chapters for specific tributes so post your thoughts and reviews in the review box. Reviews can be anonymous!_


	11. Tempered Grace

_**Chapter 10 : Tempered Grace**_

* * *

That night, neither Sophia or Yosuke could sleep. They had moved from the protective pine tree and were trekking to find another hopeful hideaway. They stopped when they saw the projection on the barrier of the fallen tributes. Sophia looked away when the pictures of Dawn and Nils, from the Cherry Blossom Institute, showed above. Finally, the cannons sounded and the pair continued to walk on under the cover of darkness.

"Sophia...are you sure that you're alright?" Yosuke asked her after they crossed the river. "You've been awfully quiet all day."

"Hm? Yes, I'm fine, Yo." Sophia responded as they finally spotted a little cave, not far from the river. It was already protected by a few bushes and some overhanging moss. They quickly tucked away inside the cave and sat close together, covering themselves with a blanket they had found in the supplies. It wasn't much to brag about but at least it helped to retain heat as the temperatures had dropped when the sun went down.

"Are you sure?" Yosuke asked her curiously. "You know that you can talk to me, right?"

Sophia nodded, biting her lip slightly. "I know. And yes, I'm fine. Or...as fine as I can be. I mean...we're trapped in this giant arena and I've already killed two people in the first thirty minutes." She admitted to him before shaking her head, trying to hold back her tears. "I'm afraid that after all this, I won't be me anymore and that you won't love me if I change..."

Yosuke looked at Sophia, a bit surprised, before her wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, gently stroking her hair as Sophia began to cry. "Soph...of course I'll still love you. Even if you change, you're still Sophia and I'm a lot more understanding than that..." He told her softly, kissing her forehead. "Dear, I'll still be with you no matter how these games change us. At the end of the day, it'll still be me and you."

Sophia nodded into his shirt as she continued to cry quietly. Yosuke stroking her hair was relaxing her somewhat and she was starting to regain herself after a bit. She looked up at him with her brown eyes. "Thank you." She said softly as she hugged him gently.

"Sophia, you're more than welcome." He told her softly. They sat there together for a while before Yosuke glanced down and realized that Sophia had fallen asleep. He got a small smile when he saw this and kissed the top of her head. He glanced around the area that they were in, making sure that he didn't spot anyone. Yosuke then sighed softly and laid his head on top of hers, falling into an uneasy sleep. So much had happened to them, especially her, in the past year. This seemed to just be another rough patch that they've had to go through.

* * *

Emy was standing outside their cave, a long ways down river from where Sophia and Yosuke had bedded down. She had seen the tribute death count and heard the cannons. She sighed, not sure how to take any of this. Sure, they were all trying to fight for their lives. But did it all have to lead to killing one another for the amusement of that psychopath? Emy wasn't sure but she didn't like any of it.

She heard leaves rustle behind her and turned her head to see Melissa walking out to stand with her. "Melissa, you don't have to come out here." Emy told her quietly. "I just couldn't sleep."

Melissa chuckled softly. "I noticed. I saw you come out here. It seems that neither of us can sleep." She said to her. Melissa then shook her head. "Even with all the madness going on, the woods are silent. It's strange, wouldn't you say?"

Emy nodded her head. "I'll agree to that. Then again, we are in the middle of an arena." She pointed out quietly, leaning against the side of the cave. "So, you're a Barrister too?" She questioned, wanting to get to a point.

Melissa looked at Emy, a little shocked at first, before she nodded. "Yes, I am. My mother's extended family lives in Bulgaria. Are you a Barrister as well?" She asked her.

Emy shrugged. "More or less, yes. My mother was a Barrister before she married my father. I'm a Steele. My mother's name is Artemis." Emy responded. She then sighed. "So, let me take a guess and say that you're probably like all the others and have some special power going on?"

Melissa looked at Emy, surprised. "Your mother is Artemis? Ah, my uncle talks fondly about your mother and about her two children that lived with him. I had forgotten that she had more that two." Melissa responded before giving Emy a half-smile. "Well, not all of us have special powers. However, I do. I'm a shapeshifter but...I'm not a very good one. Your power, however, is really great. Have you been like that forever?"

Emy looked at Melissa a bit shocked. She never knew that her mother had two other children. Actually, she wasn't sure that anyone knew that. "What? Who were they? Who was their father? Where are they?" Emy asked quickly before taking a breath and calming herself a little. She just wanted to know the answers and try to find these people. "And...yes. I've been one since I was born. But I wasn't the first one born this way. My mother and my aunt were made first in a lab and then they had kids." Emy explain to Melissa.

"Oh...you don't know about them. It's understandable. Arti lost her memory for such a long time that I don't know if she ever recovered but I know that she never got to re-meet them because she was too scared to." Melissa responded to Emy's shocked face. "Their names were Ilyria and Owen. I remember that Ilyria was like you and she went back to Hogwarts for her last year. However, there's a lot to that story that needs said another time. But their father was Sirius Black."

"Sirius Black?" Emy questioned Melissa. She stood there, thinking about what Melissa had just revealed to her. It was strange because the Durmstrang Headmistress had the same first name as her mother's first girl. She then had an epiphany. "Melissa, you said that my mum had a girl named Ilyria, right? Did she have any kids?" She asked her.

Melissa sat there thinking before nodding. "Well, yeah, she had 3. I don't know much about the first one but she had two girls named Evani and Mariska. Wait...Emy...where are you going?" She asked Emy, who was grabbing a backpack. "What about Ptolemy, Caleb, and I?"

"You guys have weapons and if you stay here, I'm sure you'll be okay. There's plenty of plants and fish around. I've got to go find Evani." Emy stated, pulling the backpack on her back.

"You don't even know where they are! Besides, what if she thinks you're going to hurt her?" Melissa replied.

"I should be able to sense her so I'm going to trust that. Evani and I had a pact in the training room so she knows that I don't want to hurt her." Emy responded before looking at Melissa. "Don't worry about me. You guys be careful and stay warm." She added before hurrying off over the river and into the woods.

"Be careful..." Melissa said quietly, watching Emy disappear into the thick woods. Who knew that even trying to protect family, so many of them would end up there in that arena?

* * *

_**Author's Note : **Hope you enjoyed the latest update! There'll be more about the other tributes; Evani, Preston, Jerika, and Jamie as well as one of the other tributes popping up that hasn't been seen since the parade and training center! Remember to review!_


	12. Go It Alone

_**Chapter 11 : Go It Alone**_

* * *

Evani woke up after a nice sleep. She noticed the sunlight starting to come into their little spring retreat. Obviously, she had slept through the night. It was then that she noticed Preston beside her, fast asleep. Part of her was angry that he had fallen asleep and no one had been on guard. However, she knew that he, too, was tired and the blanket over them both was his. There was a chill in the air so he could have been doing that to help keep her alive if it had gotten too cold last night. Evani couldn't be angry at someone who could have saved her life the night before.

"Preston." she said softly. "You need to wake up."

Preston jerked awake suddenly and noticed the light coming into the small area. "Oh, shit, I'm sorry, Evani." he apologized quickly. "I didn't mean to fall asleep last night. It just got really cold and I noticed you starting to shiver."

Evani held up her hand before shaking her head. "Don't worry about it, Preston. We're fine and that's all that matters." she said before pulling up her pant leg to check her wound and she frowned. "That looks dreadful."

"Here, let me look at it." Preston offered before moving to look at the wound. "Bugger, you broke all the stitches." he said, moving her leg a bit. "I can try to use some of your medicines to help it a bit but you don't need to be moving it. Even with all this medicine, I'm worried that it might get infected."

"That sounds bad but I can't just stay here. Someone will find us eventually." Evani pointed out to him as he started to work on cleaning the wound so that he could properly care for it. She winced a little. "Is it that bad?" she questioned him through clenched teeth.

Preston sighed as he continued to work. "It's not pretty, that's for sure." he explained, removing all the old stitches and beginning to clean the wound with some of the bottled water in his pack. "I'm just going to hope that they send you some kind of sponsor gift with a really highly effective healing cream while I do the best I can."

Evani watched Preston in slight confusion. She'd never had anyone care for her this much, aside from her family and a couple close friends. "Why?" she asked quietly, causing him to look up. "Why are you so bent on helping me and protecting me?"

Preston chuckled a moment before looking at her. "I do all this because I don't want you to die." he told her honestly before giving her a smile. "You also remind me of the good that's still around in these games. You surrendered your life to save the life of somebody else when you volunteered. That's reason enough for me to help you like I have." he admitted. "Plus, you're too pretty to die in such a violent place."

"Oh." Evani replied quietly, "I see. And thanks for the compliment." she thanked him with a slight blush on her cheeks. She watched him finish stitching up her wound and wrap it with the gauze. "So, what are we going to do now?" She asked him curiously.

Preston looked at her a moment before letting out a soft chuckle. "Well, I'm going to let it rest for now while I go find something for us to eat, I hope. You just sit tight and..." He began before seeing someone peaking over the wall and he raised his spear in defense, ready to chuck it.

The person peaking over gave a small squeak of terror before a thud was heard on the other side. Preston stood poised to still attack as he heard the shuffling of leaves and saw the person appear through the willow branches. "Merlin, sorry about that. I didn't mean to scare you that badly." Emy said, apologetically. "I just came to see Evani and when I heard your voices..." she began, looking sheepish.

Evani gently grabbed Preston's jacket hem, causing him to lower his spear before looking over at Emy with a small smile. "I'm glad to see you're alright, Emy. Why'd you come looking for me?" she asked curiously, watching Preston move to lean against the rock wall with his arms folded.

Emy looked at Evani before kneeling down. "Look, I was talking to Melissa Barrister, the girl from Greece. I know that your mother is Ilyria and I know who her mother is." Emy told Evani, who looked down with a bit of an uneasy look. Emy sighed softly. "Evani, my mother is Artemis. She used to be Artemis Black but now she's Artemis Steele and she's my mother." she tried to explain.

Evani's head snapped up. "Artemis? That would mean that you and my mother..." she began to say before giving Emy a small smile. "That would make you my aunt. My mother always said that her mother had to have had more children. We just never knew who they were."

"My mother has been looking for Ilyria for the longest time but she could never track her down. She always knew, though, that she had to be out there." Emy explained with her gentle smile before looking down at Evani's leg. "Merlin, looks like you got caught early out the gate." she said with a concerned look. "Are you able to go far?"

Preston cleared his throat before shaking his head. "I'd have to carry her. It's pretty bad." he told Emy honestly. "Why?"

Emy looked at Preston before looking at Evani. "Look, we have a place down the river a ways. There's a few others there and it'd be safer for the both of you there." she explained to the pair. "Plus, there's more of us to gather food."

Evani looked over at Preston. "She does have a point. I would feel better if there were more people." she told him honestly. "You can still protect me but it wouldn't be as tough with more eyes."

"Alright." Preston agreed reluctantly. "We'll come join your group but I'll take care of Evani myself."

"That's just fine." Emy told Preston with a smile. "Come on, I'll carry the bags. We need to get moving while it's daylight so we can move camp soon."

Preston nodded, carefully picking up Evani. Soon, the trio was traveling towards the other camp site, hoping to add safety for numbers as they all were trying to stay safe and alive. It was a trip from their spring but it was a journey worth making.

* * *

Jamie and Jerika were still in their hideaway in the bushes. Jamie had been up for a while when Jerika woke up. The sun was peeking through the trees at their little hideout.

Jamie glanced over at Jerika after hearing her moving. "Good morning." he said quietly, eating an orange that he had found in his bag. "You should probably eat something."

"Okay." Jerika said as she found an orange in her bag and began to eat it before looking at Jamie. "Are you alright?" she asked curiously. Jerika knew he was pretty upset about the day before so she wanted to make sure if he was feeling better.

Jamie shrugged. "Not really. I'm still torn up about yesterday but I'll get over it eventually, I suppose." he told her honestly. "I feel bad about it but I know that there isn't anything I can do to change it. What's done is done."

Jerika nodded slightly, hearing what Jamie said. "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Jamie. It wasn't your fault. You were just scared and you fought instead of continuing to run." she told him honestly, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"I know but I can't help it, Jerika. She was like us, just trying to stay alive and do the right thing in this psychotic arena of death. I should have thought before I acted." Jamie replied before putting his hand over hers. "But thank you for being here." he said softly.

"You're welcome." Jerika replied quietly, moving to sit closer to him. "I wonder what happened to all the other tributes that didn't die." she wondered out loud.

"They're still alive out there somewhere." Jamie replied, finishing his orange. "Hopefully, they're hiding better than we are." he pointed out.

At that moment, a pair of tributes came crawling through the bush barrier and Jamie looked at them in a confused way as Jerika held her throwing knives in her hand with one ready to throw. Jamie quickly stopped Jerika's hand as he looked at the male of the pair.

"Xavier Barrister? Is that you?" Jamie asked curiously as the two tributes had frozen in fear.

The boy relaxed a little. "Jamie? Oh, thank Merlin that it's you." he replied. The boy, obviously Xavier, looked at the girl. "We're okay here. This is my cousin, Jamie Potter." he reassured her before looking at Jamie and Jerika. "This is Tessa Wesson. She's the girl from Salem Institute. Her fellow tribute, Zephyr, paired with mine, Fennel, and they joined that group of Careers that's trying to kill everyone." Xavier explained to the two.

Jamie nodded. "Pleasure to meet you, Tessa. I'm Jamie, as Xavier said, and my edgy companion is Jerika Astrid." he introduced before looking back at his cousin. "I'm glad to see you. Have you seen any of the others, like Emy or Sophia?"

"Nah, can't say I have. Honestly, I've been running since dealing with Fennel turning on me. It was a stroke of luck that I came across Tessa here." Xavier admitted. "Looks like you two have been doing quite a bit of running as well. You're nearly at the edge of the arena."

Jerika looked at Xavier, not fully trusting him yet. "Wait a minute. You expect us to just trust both of you when even your partners are part of the Careers. I don't know how much I'm buying of this, Jamie." she said to him, looking at her friend. "They could be spying for them for all we know."

Tessa looked at Xavier before looking at Jerika. "If I may..." she began quietly before sighing. "Look, Xavier saved me from getting chopped to bits by Zephyr. If he was working with Fennel, he would've killed me when he had the chance. Let us join you two. We've got no other allies."

Jamie looked at Tessa before looking at Jerika. "They're in the same boat as us. Besides, we could use some help since we're two of the youngest in this whole thing." he pointed out to Jerika before putting his hand on her shoulder. "Trust me, okay?"

"Alright, Jamie. I trust you." Jerika gave in, looking at him before looking at Tessa and Xavier. "However, we're going to need somewhere more secluded since we have extra people." she pointed out.

"I know." Jamie agreed before looking at Tessa and Xavier. "Well, we better get hiking. It's hard to tell how much daylight we'll get today and I don't want to risk a storm coming in."

"Right." Xavier replied with a nod. "We'd better get headed out."

With that, Xavier and Tessa joined Jerika and Jamie and the quartet began journeying through the lower terrain, trying to find a safe place to hide. It was different having additional companions to give more insight but it was helpful since Tessa knew more about camouflage and Xavier was skilled with survival skills. These games were starting to look up after all.

* * *

_**Author's Note : **Whew, this chapter was interesting to write! I was pretty worried about the length but I hope you all enjoy the story. I've been a bit distracted with one of my other fanfictions but I hope everyone is enjoying it so far! Remember to review!_


	13. Blood Above All

_**Chapter 12 : Blood Above All**_

* * *

_Survival Games : Day 3_

* * *

Emy had managed to rouse their camp a short while after dawn. After having a meager lunch of fish, from the river, and a couple of rabbits that Preston had shared that morning, the little group began to trek upstream. They had to stop after so long for Preston to change Evani's bandages and Emy walked over to check on her.

"Ow...that looks nasty." Emy said, getting a good look at it as Preston was cleaning the wound. "When did that happen?" she asked curiously.

"The first day. Donevon and I had gotten weapons and were running when that guy from Salem, I think his name's Zephyr, ambushed us. He killed Donevon and he tried to get me but he just managed to give me this nasty cut on my thigh before I got away." Evani explained before wincing a little as Preston but a salve on it. "Unfortunately, it isn't getting any better. My luck is that it was some sword that affects my natural healing abilities."

Preston sighed softly as he wrapped a clean bandage around it. "I'm more worried that it'll get infected sooner or later since it refuses to heal soon." he told Emy honestly.

"I see." Emy replied as she sighed, watching Preston wrap it. "Well, hopefully we can get some medicine for you or it will heal itself."

"Until then, I'll make sure to carry her so it doesn't get worse." Preston told Emy as he finished wrapping Evani's leg. "I just hope we don't meet anyone that we don't need to find."

"As do I." Emy replied, watching Preston pick up Evani as though she were very light. "If you guys need to stop, just say something, alright?"

"Don't worry, we will." Evani told Emy with a small smile as she leaned her head against Preston's shoulder.

The group continued on for some ways before stopping to let everyone rest and to do a little foraging. The clearing they stopped in had some more delectable ground foliage that they could safely eat. As everyone paired off to look for different things, Melissa and Ptolemy were trying to reach some fruit in one of the trees. Ptolemy gave Melissa a boost and waited on the ground as she was browsing the fruits.

"Melissa, we haven't got all day." Ptolemy called up to her, holding his sword in a readied position. "Just pick some fruits already."

"Well, I want to make sure they're not rotten!" Melissa replied as she was pulling down the better ones that could last a couple of days. She glanced down at Ptolemy. "I'm sure you don't want rotten fruit."

Ptolemy chuckled, shaking his head. "Well, of course I don't." He replied, his eyes scanning the wood-line. He then noticed someone who they hadn't seen for some time. "Well, I don't believe it. I think it's that Tara girl from Hufflepuff." he said to Melissa, quickly helping her down out of the tree. "Wonder why she's wandering over there on her own? Figured she'd be with that Diggory kid."

"Hm...that is strange." Melissa replied, looking a little closer. "She's holding her sword awkwardly, isn't she?" she observed.

Ptolemy stared for a bit before looking at Melissa. "I want you to go find Emy and Caleb and get them back here." he told her.

Shortly afterward, Emy and Caleb came back with Melissa, looking very confused indeed. Melissa hadn't explained anything so they didn't know why they were being called. "What's going on?" Emy asked curiously.

"Look over there." Melissa said, pointing at Tara, who seemed to be walking without much purpose. "Do you know her?"

"Oh, hell, that's Tara." Caleb replied before waving his arms to get her attention. "What d'ya think is wrong with her? I don't want to shout but she's being so thick." he told them.

"I think something's wrong." Emy told him before Tara turned to them and she could see why. Tara had a long dagger sticking from the side of her abdomen. "Bloody hell! Come on, Caleb." Emy said, starting to run over to Tara.

Caleb ran after her and they reached Tara before she started to get a little unbalanced. "Hey there. You're alright." he said, making sure to put his arm around her to keep her steady. "What happened to you?" he questioned as they moved back to the others.

"I...I don't know. It all happened so quickly." Tara replied to them before getting a little more off-balanced. "I was trying to find Philip yesterday and this woman attacked me. I don't even..." she said quietly before falling back into Caleb's arms.

"Easy now." Caleb said, sitting down quickly and lowering her to lay her down. "Do you know who it was?"

Tara shook her head. "I'm not sure. It looked an awful lot like Fennel, though." she responded to his question before taking in a breath. "I didn't know what to do so I didn't remove the dagger."

"Might have kept you alive this long." Emy told Tara honestly after checking her over. "Thankfully, it's keeping you from bleeding out because it cut into a serious artery for one of your kidneys. If I move it, you'll die. If I don't move it, you'll get an infection and then die." she explained to the older girl.

"No...you're lying." Tara replied as she took in another deep breath. "If you can do something, you need to do it."

Caleb looked at Emy. "There's gotta be something we can do. You saved Ptolemy the other day. Why can't you save Tara?" he asked Emy.

"Because Ptolemy's injury wasn't as severe." Emy replied to Caleb. "None of his arteries were cut, Caleb. I hate to say it but if we pull that dagger out, she'll bleed out faster than I can save her."

Caleb looked ready to argue before Preston walked up, carrying Evani. "Caleb, Emy's right. You pull that knife out, she'll die faster than Emy can shift." he stated, backing Emy up. "Let Tara decide what she wants."

"I don't want to die..." Tara told them honestly before coughing a little. "But if it's going to happen, at least let it be fast."

Emy nodded before looking at Tara. "I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry..." she said to her before pulling the knife out cleanly. It was only a minute before Tara took her last breath. A cannon blast signaled that Tara had passed on. Emy sat very still a moment before closing Tara's eyes gently. She cleaned the dagger and put it in her bag before standing up. "Come on guys, we need to get moving." Emy told them, turning to follow a secondary branch of the river.

"Why are we going that way? Shouldn't we go try to end whoever did that to her?!" Caleb questioned Emy, upset at Tara's death. "Why are we going away from the solution to all this?"

Emy turned and looked at Caleb. "Well, first off, Tara said she was stabbed yesterday. That means that whoever did it is ready to ambush someone or has moved on. Going up the river probably won't help us unless you want everyone to die." she pointed out. "I suggest we go down this branch and try not to run headlong right into danger. Besides that, Evani isn't much use in a fight until she heals up some more. Come on." she said, turning and starting to walk along the river fork.

Melissa and Ptolemy nodded before falling in line behind Emy. Evani and Preston were right behind them. Caleb sighed, looking down at Tara's body before picking up a daisy and laying it on her abdomen. "I'm sorry." he apologized softly before turning to follow the others. It was starting to appear that these games were about to take a much more deadly turn.

* * *

**_Author's Note : _**_I have to admit that this is the shortest chapter I've done in a long while but I didn't want to keep you all waiting! I'm working on a couple of other things for the other tributes so I hope that you won't mind the wait! Hang in there and I'll be back with more soon._


	14. Rain

_**Chapter 13 : Rain**_

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_Survival Games : Evening of Day 3_

Sophia and Yosuke had been waiting it out in the cave that day when it had begun raining. They had gone out hunting and gathering earlier before the rain started but they sighed as they realized that they would be there for some time. Thankfully, they'd also gotten some water from the river and used iodine drops to purify it.

Sophia watched the rain fall for a while as they sat in the silent cave. The only sound for most the day was the rain falling outside. "Do you think the others are okay?" she finally asked. They hadn't talked much since the day before but that's because they didn't have much to say.

"I'm sure they are, Sophia." Yosuke replied. "They're probably all in groups and in a nice shelter right now. Or...I hope so." he said, barely whispering the last part.

Sophia nodded as she pulled her knees close to her chest. "It's been about 3 days. It's weird that we haven't seen anyone in this whole time since we left the Cornucopia." she pointed out. "Someone has to be at least somewhere near us."

Yosuke nodded as he was fixing them a small dinner with as little fire as possible to cut down on smoke. "That's true but the question is always whether they're friendly or not. I mean...there's still about 16 people left out there, not including us, and I'm certain that they're not all friendly." he reminded her. "At least we know that Emy, Caleb, Jamie, and Jerika are still alive."

"Yeah, you're right." Sophia said quietly, moving a bit further back in the cave to be closer to Yosuke. "I just hope we find someone else soon before the others do."

"Me too, Sophia. Me too." Yosuke told her, gently rubbing her back. He put some of the soup in a bowl and handed it to her. "It doesn't taste the greatest but it's food." he told her sympathetically.

Sophia took a sip of it and made a face before shaking her head. "It's fine, Yo. We can't afford to be picky about here and I'd rather have squirrel and unknown veggie soup than starve." she told him, taking another sip.

Yosuke nodded as he took a sip of his own soup. "Yeah. Thankfully, we've still got water being so near to the stream. I'm sure, though, that soon we'll be forced to go find the others." he said. "So, we should probably try to get moving tomorrow."

"What if it's still raining?" Sophia asked him. "I know that we need to go but we shouldn't make ourselves sick...especially with so little medicine."

"I know that." Yosuke said, thinking a minute. "I just know that we need to get going tomorrow if we want any chance to find the others."

"Then why not leave today? If we hurry, we might catch up to some of them..." Sophia pointed out. "We've only got two backpacks full of supplies left anyways. It's better than just sitting here. I know that it'll be dark soon but hopefully all the Careers won't be moving around much."

"You're right." Yosuke agreed before looking at their soup. "Let's finish our dinner and then be on our way. The sooner the better."

Sophia nodded, finishing her bowl before getting some more. "It may not be the greatest but it is pretty filling." she told him before kissing his cheek. "Thanks, Yosuke."

Yosuke chuckled. "You're welcome, Sophia. I'll be sure to make something better when we get home." he told her before taking another sip.

"I'm sure you will, dear." Sophia said with a light chuckle. She looked outside as the rain continued to pour and was thankful that they still had their jackets.

* * *

Jamie was sitting and watching Jerika and the others sleep. The woods were strangely quiet in the evening despite the rain. He heard a mockingbird call from across the forest and sighed as he wondered where everyone else could be. Jamie looked at everyone in the group and called them together to go.

"Guys, come on...we need to get going." Jamie said a little more loudly than he intended. He watched as Jerika, Tessa, and Xavier started to wake.

"Bugger...must we get up now? We should rest while we can." Xavier complained as he sat up and stretched.

Jamie shook his head. "Nah, we need to get going now while we're still able. I heard a cannon earlier today so we need to try to get going." he replied to Xavier, looking out the entrance to their hideaway. Jamie looked over to see Jerika packing up her bag. "You alright?"

Jerika looked up at Jamie before nodding. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired." she responded to him. "Do you know who it was?"

Jamie sighed. "It was Tara Bones." he told her, shaking his head. "I hate having all of you move so late but I feel like we really need to get going."

Tessa nodded as she pulled her bag over her shoulder. "Well, what are we waiting for? We should get going before it starts to get really dark." she responded.

The small group finally pulled together and began to travel through the woods. It was quite a time until they happened upon a cave with a small, smoldering campfire. Jamie looked at the others before he looked around the cave.

"Whomever was here earlier has moved on but they haven't been gone long." Jamie told them, coming out of the cave. "Whether they were good or not, I haven't a clue."

Tessa looked around a moment before looking down at the ground. "They obviously weren't worried about anyone following them. Look at this." she said, kneeling down and looking at the disrupted leaves. "I can track this. We can find them if we hurry."

"If you're sure, why not? Let's get moving." Jamie said to everyone.

The group followed Tessa for almost a solid mile as they followed the trail of upturned leaves. For a while, it seemed that they would have no trouble locating the owner of the trail. However, the leaves soon began to thin out which made the trail a lot harder to find.

"The trail seems to have disappeared." Tessa said frustratedly. "Where could they have gone?" she said quietly to herself, looking around.

"I'm more worried that they've led us into a trap. We're not very quiet for people being hunted by other murderous people." Xavier pointed out as he looked around quickly. "At least the leaves are wet and less noisy."

Jamie looked at Jerika before looking at Xavier. "I doubt it's a trap. Just relax." Jamie told Xavier before noticing how close it was to complete darkness. "Blast, we're almost out of daylight and I don't want to be trying to feel around in the dark. Come on. We'll figure this out later." he told the group before taking the lead. "We have to go find shelter."

They continued onwards until they spotted a cave that was surrounded by tall grasses. Jamie led them into the mouth of the cave and he nodded, taking off his soaked jacket. It appeared to be a deep cave but they didn't have to go all the way back just yet.

Tessa sighed, pulling off her jacket. "My pants are soaked. Can't we make a fire or something to dry our clothes? We seem to be really far away from the Cornucopia now. I doubt the Careers ever left." she suggested.

"I doubt it. Dad told me that wet wood makes more smoke and I bet that's exactly what they're looking for." Jerika piped in after taking her coat off. "We're all soaked but there isn't much that we can do about it."

"Shhh!" Jamie told them, putting his finger to his mouth as he got the slightest scent of smoke from deeper in the cave. He looked at Xavier and motioned for him to follow. The two quietly made their way deeper into the cave before Jamie soon spotted two figures around a fire. He nodded to Xavier as he got out his spear and Xavier took out his sword. Quickly, they jumped out from behind the corner. "Oi! Don't make any sudden moves! Who are you two?!" Jamie shouted at the pair.

A small chuckle escaped one of the two. Jamie was soon blinded by a bright light and took hold of Xavier's arm. After a moment, the light eased up a bit so that he could see who was around the fire.

"You shouldn't threaten anyone too quickly, James." Sophia said with an amused smile across her face. Jamie looked stunned at seeing his cousin. "Well, you might as well bring everyone in to warm up. We can make a bigger fire since I charmed the wood not to create any smoke." she offered to him.

Jamie nodded before bringing Tessa and Jerika further into the cave and they all sat around the fire after it grew somewhat. "How long have you guys been here?" he asked Sophia and Yosuke curiously.

"Not too long. Long enough to settle everything in and build the fire." Sophia replied after thinking. She looked at Jamie's companions a moment. "It's good to see you, Jerika."

"Nice to see you too, Sophia. Same for you, Yosuke." Jerika greeted Sophia and Yosuke as she leaned against Jamie for warmth.

"Who are your companions, Jamie?" Yosuke asked curiously.

"Oh, erm, this is Xavier Barrister, a tribute from Beauxbatons and Tessa Wesson, a tribute from Salem. We met them our first or second night. I lost track." Jamie admitted before looking at Sophia. "It's better to see you two. Have you seen any of the others?" he asked her, eager for any new information.

Sophia shook her head. "We haven't seen Emy, Caleb, or Philip since this all began. However..." she began and looked towards the cave entrance. "We did meet this nice girl. Her name is Felicity Evans and she's from the Appalachian Academy. Her fellow tribute died on the first day." Sophia explained as the small girl walked in, her jacket a solid black color and her pants a dark grey. "Felicity, these are a couple of other tributes that will be traveling with us." she told the girl, introducing them to one another.

"She doesn't talk much, does she?" Tessa questioned.

"No, not really. She's really shy." Sophia explained before using magic to suspend a pot filled with some fish, squirrel, and some safe plants they found. "But don't worry about her. She's harmless. Now, how about we have some dinner when this is done and then we can rest. With 7 of us, our odds are a great deal better. We just need to find the other 7 of our people."

Jerika smiled. "I'm just excited for dinner!" she said brightly, causing the others to laugh.

"At least some things don't change!" Jamie said, laughing as he put his arm around Jerika as they all talked the evening away. With almost everyone together, it seemed like there would be a lot less to worry about from that point on. Outside, the rain finally stopped and the sky cleared, allowing the moon to shine onto the arena.

* * *

_**Author's Note : **It's been so long since the last time that I updated...Sorry about that guys. School got really busy and I've just been searching for a muse since the semester ended. I hope this chapter isn't such a big let down but don't worry! Hopefully, another chapter will be coming along as things are going to start coming together. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Don't forget to review!_


	15. Perfect Denial

_**Chapter 14 : The Perfect Denial**_

* * *

_Survival Games : Day 4_

A faint sound of a parachute descending into the forest woke Evani from her light sleep. The pain in her leg had become almost intolerable so sleeping wasn't doing her much good. Evani groaned softly after realizing that the morphine shot had run out as she sat up slowly. She looked around a moment, trying to find where the sound was coming from.

The sponsor gift landed in Evani's lap and the parachute draped over onto the ground. Evani opened the container to find a small tub as well as a note. She quickly opened the note to see her mother's handwriting.

'_Evani, this will help to fix your leg. Get everyone together. Run. - Mum'_

Evani read the note a couple times before she opened the small tub. She stuck two of her fingers into the tub to find a very cool cream. Evani gritted her teeth as she began to apply some of it to her wound, finding that it soothed it but there was a healing burn to it. She put a little more on and watched as the wound healed from the inside out and left a brutal looking scar. Sighing, Evani placed the tub into her bag before nudging Emy.

"Emy." Evani said, gently nudging her. "Emy, wake up."

"Huh?" Emy asked sleepily, looking at Evani. "What's wrong?"

"We need to go." Evani whispered to her. The two looked at one another a moment before beginning to wake the others. Finally, after everyone was awake, Evani looked at Emy. "We should get our things and go." she suggested quickly, looking around. "I can explain later."

Emy nodded and the group moved out quickly. They had been traveling for a while before she looked at Evani. "Your leg..." she began, glancing at it. "It doesn't look as bad as it did earlier."

"My mother sent medicine." Evani explained simply. "It still causes some pain and the scar looks bad but I can at least walk. I'm not sure how far but we'll see. Has to be better than stitches." she added.

"That's for sure." Caleb agreed, walking close to the girls. "You know...it's weird. Since Tara died, really no one else has died. Surely something would have happened by now." he pointed out to them. "Where are those jerks?"

"Well, so far there's Bianca, Fennel, and Zephyr. Possibly even that Mateo fellow. They can't just be sitting and waiting for us to come to them." Preston chimed in, making sure to keep an eye on Evani. "I would keep your eyes and ears open."

"I dunno about Mateo. He and my sister used to be best friends. I don't think he'd be part of that group. Maybe he's like Philip? We just haven't found him yet." Emy suggested. She didn't want to think that her sister's old friend could be responsible for killing so many of the other tributes.

"Alright but that doesn't mean that I trust him." Caleb said to Emy. "We just need to keep moving on and see if we can find the others."

Emy nodded as they continued on along the river's edge. As they traveled on, the edge of the forest became more visible and they saw the meadow. In the distance, the Cornucopia was also visible and the group stopped dead in their tracks. Somehow, they'd gotten turned around after that storm and were heading right for the very place they wanted to avoid.

Evani's hand found Preston's sleeve and she grabbed a small bunch of the fabric. "I can't believe we ended up coming this way. We need to get out of here." she said, her voice full of anxiousness.

Emy put a hand up to quiet Evani as her eyes scanned the area that she could see. She then looked back at everyone. "I can't tell if anyone's out there but I don't want us all to go. It may be a little less worrisome if only a couple of us go." she suggested.

"I can go. I'm a shape-shifter." Melissa suggested, getting a worried look from Ptolemy. "I'll be fine and besides, no one will suspect me."

"Alright. Melissa and I will go. The rest of you find a place to hide out and wait." Emy said before looking at Evani. "You're welcome to come along if you're able."

Evani nodded. "I should be fine." she said quietly. "Let's go."

The group slowly made their way across the field and stopped as Melissa changed into a squirrel. She quickly scurried to a tree and was looking over towards the Cornucopia before she scurried back to the meadow and changed back.

"They're not over there." Melissa reported, encouraging the other girls to return to the forest. "I don't know where they are and I don't like it."

"Neither do I." Evani agreed as they reached to where they'd left the others. "We should find the others before..." she began before they heard a cannon blast. "Come on!"

Quickly, the girls began running back and looking towards any spot where the boys might have found a spot. Evani spotted the others and pulled the girls towards them before she threw her arms around Preston.

"Oh thank Merlin we found you guys!" Evani said brightly. "I was so worried!"

"Careful!" Preston warned as he set her down beside him.

"What's wrong?" Evani asked before she looked down. "Is that Bianca?!"

Caleb nodded. "She came at Preston from behind. If it hadn't been for me and Ptolemy paying attention, Preston might not have made it." he told Evani honestly.

"Well, it's a good thing that we left you two back here." Emy said honestly. "We heard the cannon and got worried. Are you guys alright?"

"She just nicked me with her knife. It's nothing to worry about right now." Preston claimed. "However, we do need to get out of here in case the others are around."

"Yeah, good idea. None of them where near the Cornucopia." Melissa agreed.

Emy and the others started back the way they came. They finally made it back to the split in the river and then turned up the side where Tara had come from. In a more secluded place, they all decided to take a rest. Everyone except Emy and Caleb went to find food.

"Emy..." Caleb began and paused, letting out a sigh. "Look, with everything that's happened today, I don't think you should trust Mateo."

"What? Why not?" Emy asked Caleb curiously.

"Look, when Bianca came at us, we were able to get some information out of her. She said that it was all Mateo's idea before she died. He's been planning this all along." Caleb told Emy. "I know that you want to trust him for your sister's sake but if you trust him, he will kill you."

"Caleb...I..." Emy began before taking a deep breath. "I have to find out for myself. They were friends once. I don't want to kill someone without finding the truth."

Caleb sighed. "I understand just don't leave the group. It's coming down to the wire. We can't risk you getting hurt." he said.

"I know. Don't worry. I won't go anywhere." Emy said with a nod. "You stay close too. I gotta get you home for Aly."

Caleb chuckled. "Don't worry. I don't plan to go anywhere without you." he agreed with a smile.

"Good." Emy said with an equal smile and gave him a nudge. "Let's go find some food. I'm starving." The two then walked off to meet up with the others to gather food for a lunchtime snack.

* * *

_**Author's Note : **Well, here's chapter 14! Remember to review and I hope you enjoyed it!_


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